Hey America!
by SailorMoonPie
Summary: Things couldn't get weirder for Quinn. She was a good worker. She used to work at the worlds most secretive intelligence agency, S.H.I.E.L.D. Was she an agent? No. She was just a lowly, normal, I.T. Everything was fine. Until Steve Rogers became a fugitive. Unfortunately, months before S.H.I.E.L.D was compromised Quinn had the pleasure of making the renowned Avenger her friend.
1. CHAPTER I

**CHAPTER ONE**

**(** RUNNING IN CIRCLES **)**

** THE MORNING SUNS dull warm** rays have barely begun to make an appearance over the Washington monument, giving the nation's capital a sense of awakening with its light. She had been up long before sunrise, the rhythmic sounds of her shoes hitting the pavement beneath her have engulfed most of her senses, leaving her trapped within the group of runners that she was clustered in. Her lungs burn with each biting breath she takes, as she tries to push herself to the front of the group. Her legs begin to tremble with each body she passes, her calves are left straining up until she reaches the front, where she takes in a deep (deeper than her panting) breath of relief.

A sense of accomplishment washes over her, a smile makes itself at home on her lips. She was first and that's all that mattered to her at that moment. She didn't expect competition when her roommate, Jo, insisted her in joining their running troop - The Joggernauts; and she was surprised to see that there was some. It gave her the extra push she needed to keep on her toes. If she wasn't so competitive she'd be in the back of the pack with Jo. She couldn't blame Jo for being a slow runner, in fact, Jo wasn't particularly slow she just had the advantage of going through law enforcement school to keep her in the rungs. Jo didn't.

Another padding of feet alerted her that someone was coming up from behind her - and fast. Her cheeks burned, her heart thumped wildly in her chest as she tried to pump her legs fast but nothing seemed to push her faster than the set of feet that was now next to her. She was determined to get ahead of the person, no matter who it was. Although she could probably take a guess at who it was. She threw a side glance at the body next to her briefly before focusing back on the pavement ahead of her. A soft chuckle from him drifted over to her, forcing her to roll her eyes.

Maddox Henson - the founder of the group and the self-proclaimed fastest man in Washington D.C. Otherwise known as the reason most of the female individuals in the troop are still here. No doubt that's why Jo accepted his invitation to the group. He was lean and muscular, he heavily depended on running as his means to stay fit.

They always went head to head with each other. Some days Maddox would come in first - other days it'd be her. Today has been up in the air between the two of them, although she was straining to keep pace with him at the moment, slightly lagging behind. That's when she was blinded by the suns ray finally making their first appearance from behind the monument. She glanced down at her watch that doubled as a heart-rate monitor to look at the time. Seven hundred. It was about time that she head home to get ready for work.

Regrettably, Quinn begins to slow her pace down to a light jog, listening to Maddox's triumphant chuckle as she pulled back. The further from the front she, the closer she was to Jo, whose face looked as red as a tomato from the amount of strain she was putting into keeping up with the group. Her chest was heaving rapidly, causing Quinn to grow concerned that she may pass out from exhaustion at any given moment. Jo glances over to her roommate and opens her mouth to speak but nothing seems to come out except heaving gasps for air. She, in turn, groans in exasperation - she was tired. Quinn places a hand on her shoulder for a moment to encourage her that the run should only last for a little longer and she can push through it. Jo's excruciating pace to her was seemingly pleasant for Quinn. It gave her a moment for her calves to relieve the tension that had been building up.

"Let's go lovelies!" Maddox's voice wavered out to the troop. "The next stop is only a couple of minutes away!" His pace begins to accelerate, and as with it, the group begins to move with him at a faster pace. Jo lets out a small squeak in protest as her legs cannot keep up with the rest of the group. She tries her hardest to move as fast as the rest but, she can only move a hair faster before her legs begin throbbing in protest. "This group," she huffs out, catching Quinn's attention. "Is going to kill me."

Quinn lets out a breathless chuckle at her friend's remark. She reaches out and gives her a small pat on the shoulder for encouragement as she watches some of the group members - including their fearless leader Maddox - come to a stop at a corner or grass. Jo lets out one more groan in agony before picking up the pace to reach the end. Quinn wastes no time in keeping up with her, she's thankful that she's at least trying to run a little faster. She glances at Jo's cherry red face one more time before looking up ahead at the rest of the straggling members of the group. Most of them are daily runners like she was, some are runners whenever they feel like it, like Jo. Jo only decides to run after having a rough date which coincidentally seemed to be at least once maybe even twice a month. Last night, Jo was on the couch watching Disney movies and eating chocolate frosting out of the container with graham crackers - today she's running and drinking her green smoothies. Wash, rinse, repeat.

"Sweet land!" Jo exclaimed as she threw herself onto the neatly cut green grass of the park that the group was running in. Quinn couldn't help but chuckle at her antics. She wiped the sweat from the back of her neck with the sleeve of her steel blue jacket before crouching down beside Jo. She rubbed her back as she asked, "Are you okay?" Jo was too busy catching her breath to respond, her eyes fell shut as she felt all her muscles ache simultaneously.

Quinn rolled her eyes. She was always dramatic. "I'm going to get you some water." She informs her friend before standing back up, knees popping and cracking in the process. The group was supposed to take a ten-minute break to stretch and hydrate before starting back up. Quinn has never officially made it to the end since most of the time work beckoned her to be there at eight hundred on the dot. She could usually get away with being at least ten minutes late.

She paced over to Maddox who was talking with a couple of women from the group. She rolled her eyes as she saw their flirtatious smiles and their forced giggles. She wouldn't talk to him if she didn't have to but unfortunately he held the backpack that held all the water bottles in them. He was chivalrous in that way, asking everyone to give him their water bottles so he could carry it and they could enjoy their time. Besides their constant competition of who's faster, and his constant flirting with other members of the group Maddox was at least bearable.

A small smirk found its way to his lips as he caught sight of her approaching, he excuses himself from his conversation to meet Quinn halfway. There's no exchange between them at first, just eye contact. Maddox has a spiteful look in his eyes, he bites down on his bottom lip as if he's rubbing in his win to her face. Quinn glares in irritation before letting out a huff. She sticks out her hand for her water bottle. "Not that much competition today." Maddox instigates as he scans Quinn's figure. His hand digs inside the black pouch and pulls out a teal metal water bottle. "Finally realize you can't beat the fastest man in D.C.?" Quinn snatches the bottle out of his hand, all the while glaring at the snarky man with a proud smirk.

She opens her mouth to protest but as she does she sees his eyes narrow as they trail off towards the trail they were just on. She turns to see what he's gawking at only to be surprised herself. It happens in a matter of seconds. There's a man running, he passes them, and then he's gone - a faint figure in the distance. There's small talk within the group, all wondering who that man could be. She smiles to herself, knowing exactly who that man was.

"Fastest man in D.C., huh?" She teases as he continues to look at the figure in the distance. She uses this time to sneak away from him. She returns to see her friend sprawled out across the grass like a starfish, her eyes still closed but her breathing has returned to its normal pace. Quinn smiles as she lightly taps Jo with her foot. Jo groans as she opens her eyes for the first time to see Quinn standing above her with a water bottle in hand. She reaches up and takes it out of her hands before gulping down most of the water.

Quinn places herself next to her in the grass. "Did you see Captain America running?" she asks. Jo makes a grunt as she stops drinking the water. "So that's what that breeze was." she jokes, handing the bottle back to Quinn. Captain America has officially become a new resident of the D.C. area. Rightfully so. It's been a good two since his arrival to D.C., almost three years since he came out of the ice and made his debut as an Avenger. She, along with everyone else in D.C., was surprised to see him actually end up residing here instead of New York City - his last place of residence.

He's been the local heartthrob to many women although he's had to make his presence known to the public eye besides his morning jogs. If that's what you would call jogging. Jo places a hand over her chest. "Oh, be still my heart, Captain America is in the same vicinity as me." She mocks the women in the group who are still trying to catch a glimpse of him although he's long gone by now. Quinn lets out a chuckle. She nudges Jo's knee with hers to get her attention.

"I know you're going to hate me, but I think we should head home. I have to get ready for work." Quinn's voice drips with sarcasm.

"You're twisting my arm here, Cruise. Don't you see? I woke up at the crack of dawn because I wanted to die today." Jo retorts with a sly smirk.

Quinn snorts as she stands up, wiping the grass clear from her body, she holds out a hand for Jo to take - which she is shakily able to do. "I don't get how you can do this every morning." Jo grunts as she grabs a hold of Quinn's shoulder for balance so stretch her left leg. "I like it," Quinn mumbles out from under her breath, crossing her arms across her chest. She stares out at the mirror pool of the monument. Its stillness seemed to calm her, it's what she needed before going into work. After Jo announces she's ready to go, they begin their trudge over to Maddox. Quinn once again braces herself for her conversation with him. Jo stops halfway, complaining about her foot cramping and tells Quinn to go on without her for the moment.

She turns back around to meet up with Maddox who had been recently surrounded by the women in the group. Overall, and as much as she hated to admit it, she couldn't blame the women of the group for wanting to flirt with the insufferable founder. Maddox was well built with a famously handsome face. He could've easily been confused as a superhero with his stature. She had to shake the thought of finding Maddox attractive away before stepping up to speak with him.

"Maddox," Quinn greets just as the instructor had stops flirting with a girl. He turns around to face her yet again, flashing a devilishly cocky grin that would make any girls heart explode. She suppressed the need to blush. "Missed me already? How can I help you?" He asks.

"Just letting you know that I'm leaving for the day with Jo. Some of us have jobs." Quinn states as his eyes narrowed in question.

"Oh yeah?" He challenges. She didn't like this. She knew where this was going.

"Yeah, you know," Quinn fumbles with her words as she pointed back towards Jo who was struggling with walking without a limp. "Starbucks."

Maddox let out a chuckle from under his breath as he watches Jo stagger towards them, before resting his eyes back on Quinn. "What about you?" He questions. Quinn sucks in a breath. She wasn't allowed to tell him per her contract that she signed. She wasn't even allowed to tell Jo or anyone close to her. "Me?" She nervously questions, she felt herself sweating more than she did running. "Yeah, what do you do?"

"I uh..." She stammers, racking her brain for the excuse she used for Jo. Before she could say anything Maddox blurted out his assumption, "Let me guess. You're a cop?" She still felt tense, but she relaxed a little bit. _A cop._

"What makes you say that? Doing anything _illegal_, Maddox?"

"No, I just have a gift for these kinds of things."

"Hate to break it to you but your gift is wrong."

"Well then what do you do?"

"I'm an I.T."

Maddox's brows raise in surprise at her answer. She felt a little better about herself, the tight feeling in her chest seemed to fade away at the moment. She hasn't lied about her job but she hadn't straight up told him what she had done for a living. She'd throw that up in her bosses face if she was ever questioned. "So you're like smart," he blurts out. She furrows her brows at the statement and watches him regroup himself from his outburst. "I didn't mean it like that-"

"No, yeah I'm smart. I get what you're trying to say. Don't strain yourself, hotshot." She winks. "Anyways, I have an update I need to install in the companies system so I had to head off. See you tomorrow." She clasps his shoulder and leaves before he even gets a chance to recuperate from his verbal vomit. "Let's go Kapplin," She urges her friend as they begin to make their way out of the park towards a bus stop.

Her job was amazing. Incredible to say the least. She was surprised when they had even approached her and offered her a job. But that was the downside of working for them. You couldn't let anyone know where you work or who you work for.


	2. CHAPTER II

**CHAPTER TWO**

**( **THE UPDATE **)**

**THE SOFT CHATTER of people fills** the large room as Quinn enters. The room is sunlit from the glass ceiling and matching glass walls, the only solid wall was towards the back. It was solid concrete with a large, black insignia of an eagle with a circle around it. The words "**Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division**" wrap around within the circle in large cutout letters.

Most of the people scattered throughout the front area are in business wear but there are a handful of people clad in dark tactical clothes, each donning a utility that they - no doubt - would've picked up from her department at one point in time. Quinn silently awes at the few individuals wearing agents clothes. She longs to become a field agent one day but for now, she'll take the job that they hired her for. I.T. It's as bland of a job as it sounds but it got her foot in the door.

She smiles warmly at the woman sitting behind a desk, who returns the smile. "Cruise," She greets as Quinn swipes her badge to get through to the room behind the large concrete wall. "Morning, Beth. Miss Edith hasn't arrived yet, has she?" Quinn quietly asks as she stops before entering the door. The older woman chuckles a bit. "Are you late again, Miss Cruise?"

"Only if you're counting." She replies with a smirk which makes the woman laugh again. "Edith hasn't arrived yet, but I can't say she won't be here for much longer. You better hurry." Quinn is through the door before she even finishes, shouting a thank you over her shoulder.

The room expands greatly as she passes through the door. There's less of a flow of people wearing business clothes, and a majority is now wearing tactical gear or lab coats. She peers ahead at the six elevators on the far wall. Each door has a large group waiting for people to get on. She groans to herself before picking up the pace, weaving her way through the thick crowd of people.

She runs into the back of the line for the elevator sooner than what she expected. She feels her heartbeat begin to pick up immensely with each passing second. For a place as busy and as overly-funded as S.H.I.E.L.D., they should invest in more elevators or at least faster ones.

She begins nervously tapping her fingers to the side of the leg, if she didn't get down to her department she was going to get in serious trouble. No doubt, that Edith, her sections boss, would publicly humiliate her in front of her colleagues. She liked doing that. Quinn had seen it a handful of times and she herself had been at the blunt end of it once. She was never going to make the same mistake again. But today felt like the day where that was going to happen.

She was nearing the front of the elevator only a handful of people were going to get on before her. She let out a sigh of relief as she began to relax. Once she hit the elevator she was in the clear. She twisted her head from side to side to look around like the busy people. She admires the agents gathering together to discuss new missions or new leads. She imagined being one of them. She could come in when she was needed, she wouldn't have to stress about Edith getting on her for being late.

The only thing she didn't fancy about being an agent was the potential threat of death at any time - besides she had made a promise she wouldn't get into any life-threatening events to her mother. She was determined to keep it for the time being.

She looks back towards the front of the building, her heart rate picking back up as she caught sight of her. Edith was heading towards the elevators. Her blood ran cold just by looking at her, she could only imagine what she'd do if she found her there. Thankfully, she hadn't noticed her yet but she couldn't say that for very long.

She pleads - begs - for something to happen with Edith so she can get into the elevator unscathed. She can hear the clicking of her heels against the marble floor, each step seemed to taunt her. She starts to give up on herself, she looks back towards Edith with wondering eyes.

Someone has bumped into her with a drink, Edith let out a seething growl as the poor girl apologized and tried to clean her off. Everyone in the area couldn't help but standby and watch as the older woman laid into the small scientist who had been too engulfed in her work to pay attention to where she was going.

Quinn was just thankful that she created a diversion for her. The scientist had just begun sopping up what was left of her drink from the floor just as the elevator rings open for the next batch of people to get in. Quinn turns her attention back to the doors in front of her as the line begins to move. She can't help but peer off to the side to see how many people would be in front of her. None. She would be first to get on the next elevator.

She looks back at Edith who is starting to calm down after her explosion. She can't take the chance. She sucks in a deep breath and merges in with a group of agents that are piling into the elevator, each protesting her presence. It's a tight squeeze with all of them in there, shoulder to shoulder. Her back meets agents crossed arms and she realizes she's met her limit of squeezing in.

It takes her a moment to press the button off to the side to her floor. Sub-level ten. There's a sigh of complaint at the crowdedness and someone even asks someone to get off in general. No one budges. Quinn looks up at the agent beside her who is giving her a judging glare. "I know I'm sorry," she apologizes to them just as the doors slide shut.

She can feel multiple eyes bore into the back of her head as she's pressed up against the doors. She's too stressed to even care. She could feel her own breath on the elevator door as she stared at it from the close vicinity. The elevator was silent. As they usually became as soon as she entered. Most of the time its agents and scientists in the elevator with her; all of which had top secret information they were dying to talk about amongst their peers yet, couldn't so long as she was in there. She wasn't classified for that. One day she would be, but until then she had to answer to her dreadful boss who was hot on her trail she could only assume.

The pit in her stomach didn't leave until the doors slid open to sub level ten. She's the first and only to get out at the floor. She can hear someone let out a sigh of relief once she gets off from within the elevator. She has no time to look back to see which smart-ass it was before the doors shut and the agents and scientists begin their descent further into the depths of the compound.

Quinn darts off towards her department at the end of the hall. She's greeted with accomplishment as she enters the office where everyone primarily is typing away to not even care to look at who just came in. She does a once over to see that Edith hasn't beat her. She scurries over to her desk, slinging her purse on the ground and quickly typing away her passcode just as Edith enters the room.

Edith's glances over each of the faces of her department. No one dares to meet her gaze, to let one's eyes wander means you're not working which makes an easy target for her. Once she's into the system, Quinn quickly makes herself look busy by taking a look at a long email sent in by one of the agents. She skims over it, briefly reading what it states.

A technical error in a watch that doubles as a comm link, their phone also was hacked and they've submitted it for her to take a look at. She takes a pink slip of hers and scans the signature for a name. As she finds it she scribbles it down on the paper. Agent Perez.

She needs to get up to grab the basket where the items the agent dropped off for her to work on is at but she's unsure if Edith is still prowling about. She's already in a bad mood, if someone as so much as raises up she may have an aneurysm. Quinn clears her throat and clicks the top of her pen down and then waits.

Thankfully she's been working with most of the people in her department for about five years now, each person unique in their own way when it comes to their work but they all have the same common enemy. Edith. They know when she's in a good mood and when she's in a bad mood, especially the people who have been there since she's started; granted there's only two.

A couple of moments go by until Dustin, the I.T. next to her coughs twice. Quinn raises up and heads towards the front to grab the white bin the agent has dropped his tech off in. As she walks back she peers over the cubby to see his curly head looking up at her with a small smile. She gives him the slightest nod and returns to her desk.

They've created a code about Edith. Or at least they've somewhat attempted to. It's not one hundred percent flawless, especially if someone has an actual cold. But it works most of the time. There's only been a handful of times where it hasn't, or a newbie doesn't quite get the gist of it and waits for a reply but doesn't get one and ends up biting off more than what they can chew with Edith.

She sighs as she begins to pick apart what she can with the watch and phone. It tedious but she manages to get it done. The comm link always interested her. Something that looks so innocent as a watch doubled as a communicator. It reminded her of James Bond and his arsenal of convenient gear and gadgets. Of course, there's more to their arsenal of weaponry but her department doesn't deal with fixing extremely dangerous weapons. Although sometimes she wishes she could.

The clicking of Edith's shoes appears from out of her office from where she was hiding. Quinn didn't dare look up at her to see what she was doing. She continued to fiddle with the comm link in her hands up until Edith cleared her throat and asked for everyone's attention. This was the only time where it'd be safe to look at Edith, and she did so. She dropped the comm link with a soft thud on her desk and peered over the edge to look at the older woman. The only word that Quinn could use to describe her would be snake-like. Her features were slender yet pointed, she held most of her stress on her shoulders which caused them to raise up ninety percent of the time, making her look like a frightened cat.

She glanced sideways over at Dustin who was also paying attention to their supervisor, she felt relieved she wasn't the only one. "As you should know the new update software should be available today for the agents. What's the status on getting it uploaded?" Edith questions, staring out into the sea of blank eyes. Edith clasps her hands behind her back and begins pacing down the first line of desks, eyeballing each technician.

She stops at an older, pudgy, gentleman's desk - Henry was his name if Quinn could recall. He had been with S.H.I.E.L.D. for years now. "The file is currently uploading, it should be available in a couple of hours." He responds to her, sweat starting to build upon his brow. Quinn watches as Edith lets out a long puff of air, whether it's out of frustration or relief is hard to tell. Edith continues to pace down the line of desks.

"For those of you who didn't remember, the upgrade will be for the agent's communicators - mainly their phones - we've been getting more and more each day with agents saying they've been hacked. Once the upgrade is complete it will be sent out to each agents communicator - for there on they'll have to install it with just a simple press of a button. Did anyone receive a phone from an agent recently?"

Quinn freezes as she looks at the slender black phone sitting in the white basket on her desk. Usually, she would wait for someone else to say they received a phone but Edith seemed almost pleasant today - almost. Her gaze was still judgmental but at least she wasn't throwing unnecessary vile comments towards them. She glances over at Dustin who gives her a tiny shake of his head. Her lips press into a thin line as Edith asks again if anyone received a phone from an agent.

She finally musters enough courage to raise her hand and inform Edith that an agent dropped off a hacked phone to her last night. Edith turns her attention to her, it's the first time they've locked eyes with each other all week. She doesn't feel threatened at all by her supervisor at the moment, perhaps it was the pure adrenaline kicking in or perhaps she was tired of being scared of Edith. "Bring it here," Edith beckons as she places her thick glasses on the bridge of her nose. She wastes no time in crossing the room to her with the phone clutched in her hand, a trail of cautious eyes following her figure. Edith's gaze is just as judgmental as usual as she plucks the phone out of her hand. "Who's-"

"Agent Perez," Quinn answers before Edith can even finish.

Edith's lips press in a firm line as she eyeballs the tech in her hand. Quinn feels the sudden of uncomfortable awkwardness as she stands in front of Edith, rocking back and forth on her heels anxiously. She can't help but feel as though Edith is examining her work - even though she hadn't even begun to tinker with it. Edith lets out a small, "Ah." as she begins to go through the corrupted files on the device before handing it back to Quinn. "This is something the update will be able to fix. You can try to get it up and working before then or you can wait a couple of hours to install the upgrade. The upgrade will strength the firewall by ten-fold, forcing whoever is in the phone to be blocked out for good. Dismissed." She nods her head once in thanks before scurrying towards her desk, surprised that Edith didn't make any remarks towards her whatsoever.

She can see Dustin glance her way out of the corner of her eye and she returns his confused gaze with a shrug. "This upgrade should last at least a couple weeks before anyone figures out how to bypass the firewall and security codes. We should start coming out with a second version." Edith informs the group, earning a few nods in acknowledgment before she exits the room to disappear in her office. Quinn lets out a long sigh, as she begins to tinker with the comm link.

The canteen isn't as crowded as it usually was. Perhaps most of the agents were off on missions. Which would inevitably end up with them coming back with issues with their tech; especially with the new update. She has a headache just thinking about it. She grabs a triangular sandwich wrapped in a clear plastic wrap and places it on the mustard colored tray. The letters on the wrap read "**TRK**" which, presumably means turkey - she hopes.

"I really thought she was going to bite your head off," Dustin says, trailing behind her to an open table by the large glass window that overlooked the hangar where dozens of agents and pilots milled around trying to get ready for their next mission. Quinn shrugs her shoulders as she sits across from him, unwrapping her sandwich. "I couldn't care less at the moment. She would've bitten my head off if I didn't speak up and say that I had a phone and came to her later asking what should I do with it."

"True. I wonder if someone else had a phone and was too scared to talk to her,"

"You're being very hypothetical today," Quinn states, biting into her sandwich as she peers down into the hangar watching people load weapons and ammunition on to a cargo plane. "It's in my nature, you know that," Dustin comments but she pays no mind to it as she continues to stare off into the distance. She imagined herself being down there with them, she wanted that life. To live on the thrill of a mission. She went to school for it, if it wasn't for that damn promise she made she'd be down there right now guaranteed.

"You still looking to become one of them?" Dustin interrupts her daydream, causing her face to become flush with embarrassment. She shrugs. "I can only hope but, I can't I don't have enough training," she hums out. "Besides my skills are needed in the tech department, no one can match me."

Dustin lets out a wry laugh at her statement. "Except everyone could match you."

"Are you saying I'm replaceable?" she teases with a smirk, watching him become uncomfortable.

"Not in particular. No one can really replace _you_ \- but skill-wise, yeah there are literally millions out there who could replace you."

"Wow, you are such a nice friend," Quinn sarcastically remarks, taking another bite of her sandwich before looking out into the hangar again. "I'm just saying your skills would be of better use out in the field."

She perks her brow up at this and gives him a questioning eye while finishing the bite. "When you say "my skills" are you implying that I have superpowers?"

"You know what I mean,"

"Mm."

"You're schooling or whatever. No one goes into law enforcement in college to just wind up as I.T. in a top secret government agency."

Quinn rolls her eyes with a smirk. She was going to have fun with this. "And you're not just saying that because I have powers?"

Dustin narrows his eyes at her while taking a drink of his soda. He's trying to decipher if this is a test or not. Her smirks says it is but her tone doesn't. "You don't have powers." He answers, only to watch her raise her brows in suspicion and shrug her shoulders. "You would have told me,"

"Okay," She simply states, her tone is a little higher than usual. He narrows his eyes at her once again. "No, you don't,"

"Okay."

"You don't-"

"You're starting to sound unsure of yourself. Are you sure I don't have powers? I could be like a secret girl version of Thor."

"The look on your face says you don't have powers, but the tone of your voice suggest you do."

"So which is it?"

He closes his mouth and presses his hand over his mouth as he tries to decipher what she's doing. She can see the tension start to build up within him, his gaze is analytical as he rakes through his brain to remember if there was an actual conversation where she mentioned she had any superhuman powers. He stifles out a breath as he continues to gaze into her eyes, which have increasingly gotten smugger with every passing second.

"Do you have powers?" he asks quietly and unsure of it. The scrunched up face of unease he makes while asking makes Quinn chuckle with satisfaction. "Yes, I do. But it's a secret, come closer," her voice is just above a whisper as she leans forward and motions for him to come forward as well. He does as he's instructed and inches forward excitedly. "I have the power to make people feel uncomfortable. Do you know what that's called?"

He leans back agitated, he has been conned into one of her psych sessions. "It's called being socially awkward. So you don't have powers. I knew it," Dustin huffs out in an irritated tone as Quinn continues to giggle. She points her finger at him with a smug smile crossing her lips. "But you didn't know. We've actually never had that conversation before," she adduces, earning a groan from her friend. They've known each other for a couple of years, of course, he wasn't going to remember minute conversations with her that they've had from time to time.

"Well, I have a superpower. It's called - I'm going to crop dust you every time I walk by your desk now." Dustin threatens earning a gagged response from Quinn that places a smile on his face. "Don't be gross," she scolds, lightly kicking his shin as he chuckles.

Her eyes wander back out towards the hangar where a large group of agents has gathered themselves around a jet. She perks a brow up in question as she stares at the agents wondering what mission they've been assigned to have that many of them on. Then she sees a familiar muscular figure in a navy blue suit come into sight. If it wasn't for his build that gave him away it was definitely the large red, white, and blue circular shield hanging comfortably on his back. So that's why there were so many agents.

"Hm," she hums out as she stares at the large group, drawing Dustin's attention to look out with her. "I wonder where Cap's going." He rounds the front of the circle of agents and begins soundlessly speaking to them, his hands finding their place on his utility belt. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Dustin shrug his shoulders. "I haven't seen him around the compound lately. It's been a good three weeks,"

"Must have been on vacation," Quinn suggests.

"Or on a covert mission. Who knows, it's not like he really talks to anyone we know," Dustin replies, returning his attention back to his lunch. He takes one look at the time on his watch and takes a bigger bite, chewing fast as he mumbles out it's almost time to go. Quinn didn't pay mind to what Dustin was doing, her eyes were trained on the agents and Captain as he continued to talk about whatever mission they were going on.

A hand clasps her shoulder and she jumps from the sudden contact. Her eyes widen at first to look at who was touching her and then they relax as they see Dustin familiar figure. "You scared me," she whispers out as she clutches on to her chest. "We have to go," he informs her, bringing her back to reality. She rolls her eyes as she realizes she has to go back to work, letting out a whine of protest. She takes one more look out to the hangar to see the agents filing on to the jet in a single file line, Cap waiting in the back to make sure everyone boards.

Reluctantly she grabs her tray and tosses her plastic wrapper in the garbage and tray on top of it. "Let's get back to work," Quinn's voice is half-hearted as she speaks to Dustin who is waiting for her by the canteen doors. If she had stayed to look out of the window a little longer; she would have noticed a pair of eyes that lingered on her from the hangar.


	3. CHAPTER III

**CHAPTER THREE**

**( **RUN RUN RUDOLPH **)**

** SHE WOKE UP to the** **feeling** of something wet and slimy rubbing against her face. Quinn immediately gasped for air from her exhausted state and pushed away what was on her face. The sunlight drifting in her room blinded her for a few moments, she could only see the figure in her lap for a mere second but she instantly knows what - more like who - it was. "Rudolph, get out of here." She scolds the animal, pushing him off her chest. This only caused the golden retriever to get even more excited, which made him lick her face even more.

She groans as she lamely attempts to push him off once again only to fail. She finally pokes her head away just enough to look at her clock. Nine hundred. She immediately raises in a panic. She was supposed to meet up with The Joggernauts hours ago. She must've missed her alarm. She groans in frustration and she manages to get out from underneath Rudolph's weight.

She stands up on the balls of her feet and stretches her arms out from a moment as she starts counting the days in her head with trepidation. Comfort swarms over her as she becomes aware that today is Saturday - the first day of the weekend. She places herself back on the edge of the soft mattress, listening to the squeaks of the springs in the process.

She ruffles the soft, golden fur of Rudolph's head and he instantly rolls over on his back to reveal the lighter colored fur of his belly to her. She scratches it for a moment before yawning. She hadn't actually had a chance to sleep in in over a month and a half; she was dedicated to running with The Joggernauts but she didn't interpret what it could do to her sleep cycle. She needed the few extra hours of sleep. However; she deemed that she had slept enough and it was time to get ready for the day.

As she exited her room she noticed that Jo's door was open, yet there was no sound of her snoring nor was there any commotion coming from the living area or kitchen. She must've been at work. Rudolph's nail clicked against the wooden floor of the loft, coming to an abrupt stop as he sat and gazed up at Quinn with a goofy expression - his tongue rolling out of the side of his mouth as he panted.

Rudolph wasn't her dog, he belonged to Jo who had begged Quinn of letting her get a dog after a while. At first, Quinn wasn't too pleased with the mess the puppy created but over time she became more and more accustom to him being in their home. He gave her good company when Jo was off on dates or at work. She smiled down at the dog, listening to him whine, and then scoffing.

"She didn't feed you before she left, did she?" She questions the dog, who continued to whine, his tail thumping against the floor. She sighed in frustration, Jo wanted the dog but neglected on giving him the attention and necessities he needed; like walks or food and water. He solely depended on Quinn for that. Without hesitation, Quinn walked into the kitchen and grabbed the metallic food bowl sitting next to the patio door and mashed a can of wet dog food in it. Jo insisted on giving him wet dog food, mentioning something about it being healthier for him.

Quinn didn't complain, at least she bought him food and took him to the vet and groomer when he needed to go; which was often. As soon as she set it down Rudolph digs into it, she chuckles as he scarfs it down. "Give me a second to get ready. We're going for a walky," She announces in her baby voice, causing Rudolph to look up at her with perked up ears. He always gets excited for walks.

She takes a moment to scroll through her phone and glance at social media as she gets ready. She's greeted by a notification from _Tinder_ stating she has twelve unread messages. She rolls her eyes as she pulls her t-shirt down around her torso. Jo had forced her to sign up about a year ago, it's where she usually frequents to get her plentiful stream of dates. Quinn has seen what it's done to Jo, she doesn't want to take part in it, however, Jo asks her how _Tinder_ life is going for her from time to time and if she were to be completely honest, she didn't mind looking at the half nude photos of men along with their completely asinine pick up lines.

It brought her entertainment. She didn't have time for dating at the moment. Curiosity got the best of her, as she decides to go through her _Tinder_ to see who's trying to flirt with her. She taps on the first message, a man named Damion with a picture of him shirtless with a baseball cap on. She associates him with someone Jo would take interest in. "Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, We're a match on _Tinder_, so I think we should screw." The text reads. Her brows raise at the beautiful poem that he sent her. There's no way she's ever responding to that, not in a million years.

She closes the app as soon as she hears the jingling of Rudolph's collar, she turns to see him enter her room with her tan leash in his mouth excitedly. She chuckles at the sight and pats the dog on his head, taking the leash from his mouth and hooking it around his collar (being sure to avoid the parts covered in his drool). "Alright, let's go," She hums to the dog as he begins leading her out of the room and towards the front door.

**THERE ARE A FEW more people out** and about now near the Washington Monument than around the time that she is usually here with The Joggernauts. The crowd around the Monument is starting to appear but it's not in a mass, just a few people here and there milling around. In a way, she's thankful for that. Rudolph is usually a good dog, but that doesn't mean he's not excitable. When he jumps - _he jumps_. It's enough to knock her down when does it.

She looks down at the dog who's just now starting to pant next to her on their jog. She slows down her pace so he can walk beside her as she jogs. Her lungs have yet to feel as if they're on fire but perhaps it's because she's been in and out of slightly jogging, to jogging, to walking, because she's distracted by Rudolph. How could she blame herself for not hitting her goal by looking at his face? His tongue was lolling out once again, his tail wagging from side to side as he panted it looked like he was smiling. Her heart clenched. It was too precious for her to handle.

"I would die for you, I want you to know that," She says slowing down to a walk beside the animal as she looks down at him; he returns her gaze. "I would die for you and you're not even my dog." The retriever slows down to a monotonous pace, gazing up at her still. She looks back down at him to see why he's slowing down and that's when he rears up on his hind legs and jumps up on her. She braces for his weight as his paws dig into her hands that she caught them on. He's a whole foot shorter than her on his hind legs, pretty tall for a dog.

She avoids getting his kisses on her face as best as she can. "All right, all right," She warns him as she sets his front paws back down on the pavement. She hears a familiar sound, the sound of thumping feet on the pavement. A runner and they're hauling as fast as they can go. She barely has time to look up at the person before she hears, "On your left." called out to her.

She instantly recognizes this to be Captain America once again. It must've been a short mission for him to be back already. Rudolph whines and yips in excitement at the running man. He tugs on his leash after him, lurching Quinn forward with him on the ground. She grips on to the leash tightly and pulls back on it, restraining the dog from going any further.

She attempts to place herself back on her feet when he surges forward again after Captain America; this time breaking free of her grasp. Quinn gasps in surprise as she hits the pavement, watching Rudolph run after the man. "Rudolph!" She shouts a strangled cry. She quickly picks herself up off the pavement and begins running after her dog, calling his name and telling him to "heel!" and "stop!".

Despite her protest, Rudolph continues to chase after him, even though he has long since gotten a good lead on him. Quinn's legs pump as fast as they can go but it's no match compared to the four-legged animal. She calls for him become desperate; until finally she sees him veer off to the left of the path off Captain America's trail.

She follows him with her eyes to see him run over to none other than Maddox who is clapping his hands to get the dogs attention. She watches as Rudolph straight up jumps on top of Maddox knocking him down into the soft grass. Relief fills her core as she slows down to where Rudolph landed on Maddox. Rudolph is licking Maddox's sweaty face, causing Maddox to laugh breathlessly. She takes the opportunity to clip onto Rudolph's leash before pulling him off Maddox.

"Bad!" She scolds the dog. "That is not how we behave! I trained you better." Rudolph sits down on the ground, ears pressed flat against his head, looking down at the ground. The dog knew he was in trouble, he lays down in the grass completely before rolling over to reveal his belly once again, tail between his legs, a sign of submission. She looks over to Maddox, who is recuperating from getting licked by Rudolph, wiping his face clear of the drool. "I'm so sorry, Maddox," she apologizes, offering a hand to help him up. He takes it while smirking up at her. "Thank you for catching him."

"'s not a problem. I'm a dog lover," he replies, looking down at the animal. He crouches back down and rubs Rudolph's belly, making the dog's foot scratch the air in glee. She looks at the small running group he was with, the numbers definitely start to decline after ten hundred. "I'm sorry if I interrupted your running too." She bites her bottom lip and turns away as she notices a couple of women glaring at her. He chuckles in response, turning his face up to look at her.

"We're just about done," he responds in a light-hearted tone. He raises up to his full height, towering over her, which makes her cheeks feel flush. She really didn't want to find him attractive but she did, at least she found his physical side to be attractive. The cocky, smart-ass that he was, not so much. "You would know that we're almost done if you showed up this morning." There it is. She rolls her eyes while crossing her arms, leash in hand.

"I slept through my alarm, bite me," her tone is as icy as her glare. "Don't tempt me," he retorts causing her to scoff. If he hadn't just saved her dog she would have walked off by now, but seeing as she did, and because she was raised with manners, she continued to stay. "I really appreciate you grabbing Rudolph, he's not even technically my dog, he's Jo's. I'd be in a lot of shit if it weren't for you-"

"You can get a coffee with me." he interrupts her.

Quinn's face scrunches up as if she was insulted. She was. Whatever happened to men being gratuitous and being chivalrous. She scoffs and rolls her eyes before letting out a low whistle to alert Rudolph to get up. "Anyways, thanks for grabbing my dog, I have to go," she declares, watching the cockiness in his fade away to reveal a bit of panic. "Wait. No, I'm sorry," he interjects, grabbing a hold of her wrist to stop her. "I got ahead of myself there. I don't want you to get me coffee. _I_ want to get _you_ coffee. If you'd like."

Quinn looks between the grip of his hand on her wrist up into the apologetic eyes of her running team's founder. It was a soft look in his eyes that made her heart clench. He looked like a sad puppy. She could feel his grip become clammy around her wrist, causing her to twist her lips up into a crooked smile. "Uh, yeah, sure," she bashfully accepts. "Jo actually works at a Starbucks not too far from here. I'm sure she'd like to see Rudolph. I'll meet you there?" she suggests leaving it open for him to possibly say a different coffee shop. Instead, he nods his head, a smile playing at his lips.

"I'll be there in twenty and I'll see you in forty," he jokes. She gives him a dry laugh as she rolls her eyes and bids him goodbye. A small pit of excitement makes itself known in her stomach as she walks away. It was like she was experiencing butterflies for the first time in years.

The walk from the park to the coffee shop is brief, it only takes ten minutes. The coffee shop is bustling with tourists and business people, possibly new politicians, Quinn didn't know nor did she care. All she cared about was Jo and the butterflies in her stomach. She looked inside the large glass window in the front of the Starbucks, skimming the area inside as Rudolph whines from below. She places a hand on his head for comfort as she gazes towards the cash bar area where people have clustered around to place their orders.

It doesn't take too long to find her roommate standing at the far end calling out names for orders. Quinn waves her hand for outside, hoping to catch her attention, thankfully her eyes meet with hers. Jo smiles in acknowledgment and puts her index finger up to her to indicate she'll be out momentarily. She nods and finds a circular black table outside to sit at, Rudolph makes himself comfortable underneath her chair. She gives him a small pet on the top of his head to calm him down. Being near large crowds of people always seemed to make him nervous yet excitable at the same time.

Her eyes grazed over the crowds of bustling people, people watching seemed to be her favorite thing to do in her downtime. She loved watching them scurrying from building to building, she could tell who was a tourist and who wasn't - who had a meeting to attend to or who was out and about trying to meet up with friends. It's the same in every major city she's visited or lived in. She loved people watching the most in New York when she visited her mother. Rudolph's tail brushed up against her calves, creating a small breeze around an ankle.

She turns just in time to see Jo step out of the Starbucks, green apron in hand along with a cup of water. She places the clear large cup in front of Rudolph not releasing it, watching him lap up what he could. "It's nice to get visitors," Jo chimes in as she peers up at Quinn. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" Quinn shrugs her shoulders in turn. "We were in the neighborhood," she states as she pets Rudolph's head. "Actually I'm supposed to be meeting Maddox here."

She watches her roommate's eyes light up with curiosity and excitement. She rolls her eyes, she knew Jo would act this way. "As a date?" Quinn feverishly shakes her head from side to side. "As a courtesy, he rescued Rudolph for me." Jo perks her brow up at this in question, concern flooding her features. Quinn sucks in a deep breath as she recollects the events from this morning. "He chased Captain America," she states with a slight twinge of grudge in her voice. "Of course he was too fast for Rudolph but, he just kept chasing him,"

"Did he say anything?"

Quinn scoffs at the question, thinking back to her running and shouting Rudolph's name. "Captain America doesn't talk to people. He just runs," she explains with a shrug. Jo pats the top of Rudolph's head and asks him if he was naughty today, earning nothing but hot pants from the dog.

She doesn't remember Captain America looking back at them, it felt as if he was ignoring her calls for her dog to stop chasing him. Then again, if she was in his position he wouldn't stop either especially with what he does for a living. He must've been too caught up in the moment to even acknowledge the fact that someone was telling him their dog was chasing him. Sometimes she wondered what it would be like to trade places with him.

"So Maddox caught him and he's coming here?" Jo interrupted her thoughts, she blinked twice at her roommate before nodding her head at the statement. "I was going to offer to buy him a coffee but he beat me to it. Well, he was his usual smug self at first but then he actually asked me for coffee." she clarifies. Jo clasps her shoulder in excitement and lets out a quiet squeal of enthusiasm, she's practically bouncing in her seat. Quinn can't help but feel annoyed by her animated presence about the scenario. "It sounds like a date,"

"It's really not."

"What would you call it then?"

"Being nice. A friendly gesture as friends." Quinn shrugs which causes Jo to give her an unimpressed look, her whole bubbly persona fading away. "Don't suck the fun out of this, it's a beautiful day, and you're getting coffee with your hot jogging instructor because he caught my dog. This is something that you'd hear about in a romantic comedy. This is how it starts," Jo adamantly states.

"I don't think I want my life to be a romantic comedy. Nor do I think it is. In a romantic comedy the girl has like a job in the fashion industry or works in a book store. I'm an I.T. I will never go further than that. It's frustrating, quite frankly," she complains, a throbbing pain in her chest. Something about it didn't seem right. She knew she was meant for more than being a common I.T. person, she just didn't know how to break the cycle.

"Quinn," Jo's voice is low, as she grasps her roommate's hand in encouragement. Jo scans her eyes for hesitance but all she can find is a slight concern. They've been friends for years, she knew her better than herself. She hasn't always been the relationship type nor has she been the headstrong person she thought she could be. "I know this is hard for you, but I think you need to take a leap of faith. You'll find your place. It may not be right now, but it will come. And I'll be right there beside you."

Quinn felt the throbbing in her chest start to lighten as she took in the words her roommate poured on to her. Jo, as air-headed and as boy crazy she was, always gave her the right advice whenever she needed it. She's been her support system for the past few years, and she had been hers. She wouldn't know what to do without her, and frankly, she doubts Jo would be where she was in life without her.

She smiles as she squeezes Jo's hand, and whispers out a thank you. Jo holds her gaze for a moment before looking around her and inhaling sharply. "Hottie alert," she whispers out as she hurries to get up out of the metal chair. Quinn furrows her brows confused by her sudden alert stance. Jo keeps looking between her and the supposed "hottie" trying to gain her attention to make the connection.

Quinn looks back to see Maddox wave towards both them. He was dressed in his running outfit just as she was, simple black shorts and a black t-shirt. His copper hair was semi-styled but had gotten a tad messy due to the sweat from running. She feels the rhythmic pattern of her heartbeat start to raise as she watches his smile shine brightly between her and Jo. Jo is the first to officially greet him, she thanks him for saving her dog.

"It's really no biggie," he responds, petting Rudolph as he stretches from underneath the chair to greet him. "He gave me the right push. I'm actually here to get some coffee with Cruise here,"

"Oh yeah, she mentioned something like that was happening," Jo confesses trying to sound casual. There's an awkward silence between the three as Jo gives Maddox a flirtatious look, while he sheepishly looks back her. Quinn is left sitting and looking at the both of them awkwardly, patting Rudolph to ease the tension she was feeling. "I should get going back and leave you two to it, come inside and order whenever," Jo announces.

Maddox gives Quinn a warm smile before bidding Jo a goodbye. "Do you know what you want? I could run in and grab since you have Rudolph," he offers nervously. This was a side that she's never seen of him, acting nervous and fidgety. It was likable. "Just a hibiscus tea. Medium - or grande whatever," she replies.

She watches him with endearment as he crouches down to Rudolph's height once again to ruffle the fur on his neck. "And a puppacino for the puppy?" he wonders in a baby voice, as he scratches behind his ear. Quinn nods her head once, finding the light in his eyes spark up at the gesture. "I'll be right back."

As he leaves Quinn can feel the rhythm in her heartbeat intensify and she immediately regretted it. She couldn't let herself get too attached to him. She wasn't allowed to.


	4. CHAPTER IV

**CHAPTER FOUR**

**( **THE BILL **)**

** QUINN FUMBLES WITH the copper set **of keys as she tries to get into her loft. She can hear the excited whines of Rudolph from the other side of the door. As she opens the door she's bombarded with the force of the golden retriever jumping up on her to say hello. It had been a whole twelve hours since the last time he's seen her. Even though his fur is getting stuck on to her black pants she doesn't seem to mind. Petting Rudolph was almost damn near therapeutic to her. It was enough to relieve the stress of her work day.

Edith was on a warpath today, making most of them feel incompetent with their jobs - including herself. She made the mistake of accidentally grabbing the wrong basket with someone so she had to actually have a conversation with the person to trade back and Edith thought they were conversing freely. She spewed off about how lazy, and shotty her work was with the tech that's been brought in to her to fix, she can't do anything right. She knew better than to take whatever she was saying to heart but she couldn't help if the words seared into the back of her head, branding her as useless.

As she recalled the outburst and humiliation she starts to tear up, the hot, tingly sensation of water welling up in her eyes made her chest feel uncomfortable. She tries telling herself that she's okay, and reminds her to never take her words in to account but at the same time she keeps asking herself the same question.

_What if she's right?_

The hum of the hair dryer comes to an abrupt stop from the bathroom. "Quinn?" Jo's voice calls out for her. She freezes, trying to calm herself down before answering. "Yeah?" she responds, her voice a tad bit shaky but not enough to warrant worry from her friend. The wooden floor creaks from the hallway, Quinn quickly wipes her face from the tears as she hangs on to Rudolph.

She looks at the exit way of the hallway waiting for Jo's familiar short stature to appear. She rests her head on top of Rudolph's as she waits. Jo appears, half of her beige-colored hair twisted up in a ponytail, the other half dry, and flat against her head. She's wearing an old grey t-shirt with black shorts. "I just wanted to see if you were here," she excuses herself. "I heard Rudolph whining and the door open."

"Did you think I was a murderer?"

"Hell, Quinn, who knows? All I know is that I'm home alone and I'm no taller than a fourth grader. How am I going to defend myself when my police academy roommate is at work?" Jo says defensively. "Okay, well, I'm home," Quinn exasperates, patting Rudolph's belly. She glances at Jo's attire and narrows her eyes. "Are you going out?" Jo's lips turn upwards into a small smile as she nods her head. If only she could go on dates like she did, to never give up on trying to find love.

Not that she hadn't given up yet; she is just taking a very long break from it. No matter the person. She's also not actively searching for it. She worries for Jo. She's seen her heart broken time and time again, she doesn't know how much stress she can take until she breaks down and gives up. Jo giving up on love wouldn't be the Jo she knows. "Will you wear the nail polish I got you?" Quinn wonders, mimicking the motion of brushing polish onto her nails. Jo rolls her eyes. "I mean it won't go with what I'm going to wear-"

"Please, " Quinn pleads, earning a tight-lipped frown from her friend.

"Fine, " she gives in, walking back towards the bathroom to finish primping herself.

For Christmas Quinn had bought her nail polish that changes color if she dipped her finger in her drink if it was drugged. She wasn't going to go out every time and babysit Jo in the distance on her dates, she was an adult, she can handle herself. That doesn't mean she doesn't worry. The least Jo could do was protect herself instead of throwing caution to the wind. This was the only way that was reasonable that Quinn could make sure she's okay.

They also have a certain code they're supposed to use if they ever felt uncomfortable with a date, or if Jo actually did find out her drink was drugged. Once Quinn would catch the drift of the code word she'd drop what she was doing immediately and help her. Vice versa.

Quinn places herself on the cream colored couch, Rudolph follows suit. She groans. All she wants to do is relax and instead has to deal with the enormous golden retriever who's missed her all day long. "You are so neglected, " she coos at the dog, ruffling the golden fur around his neck as he stretches into her lap. Now she was stuck for good, at least for a while.

To her right, she can see the slender, black remote sitting on the arm of the couch. She stretches her torso as long as she can and reaches her arm out, careful not to disturb Rudolph who lay looking at her quizzically in her lap. Her middle finger barely brushes against the bottom of the remote, she sucks in a deep breath and smacks her hand down on the bottom of the teetering remote, sending it flying in her direction. She catches it with her left hand. She silently lets out a chuckle of accomplishment at what she just did.

"I have the force, " she whispers out, as she presses the large green button at the top to turn on the television.

It dimly hums to life as the screen lights up displaying channels she can choose from. Her immediate choice is Netflix. Just as she's turning on a new documentary Jo makes her presence known by clicking her heels on the ground on the wooden floor. Quinn looks up to see her roommate in a navy blue dress, with black pumps, her hair is in a side braid. "Any plans for the night?" she questions Quinn as she places her essentials from her purse into a small clutch. Quinn shakes her head. "You're looking at it, " she says as she presses play on the documentary.

"Well, we got the cable bill and you received a letter from the hospital, if you wanted to take a look at those," Jo informs her. Quinn looks over at her quizzically, as she picks up the ivory envelope that has "Dr. Meredith Woodruff D.O. - New York City Hospital" in crimson letters in the top left-hand corner. Quinn almost chokes on her own saliva as she stares at the envelope.

She pushes Rudolph off her lap with a strength she didn't know she had in her. She quietly apologized to the dogs she shuffled her way over to the kitchen island where Jo was holding the letter. She carefully plucked it from her hands, Jo's eyes are carefully trained on her watching for signs of distress. She delicately slides her index finger under the lip of the envelope, ripping it open. She skims over the letter at first, looking for keywords that could possibly mean there's a dire situation happening but she doesn't pick up on any.

She flips over to the second page, a bill. Her eyes immediately widen as she looks at the amount she owes them. "Holy mother, " she gasps, staggering backward a bit in disbelief. Jo looks over the bill and she lets out a gasp of shock as she looks at the amount. "_Three thousand three hundred and fifty-five dollars?_" she breathes out, scanning Quinn's features which have become pale. She would be pale too if she got hit with that lump sum. Quinn can't even find the right words to express how unbelievably taken back she is to the amount. The amount has gone up at least a thousand dollars from last month.

"Why?" is the only word she can muster as she flips back to the first page to reread what Dr. Woodruff had stated.

"She's been having more episodes lately, causing her to be sedated more often. Her condition seems to be stable for the time being but Dr. Woodruff fears that it could start to deteriorate rather quickly without proper treatment. She's suggesting she be transferred to her own facility in New York, where she can be constantly supervised. However, the sum would go up significantly. She's tried her best to let her be in the hospital but she sees no other options." Quinn lists off what the letter reads. "Her sincerest apologies, Dr. Meredith Woodruff." Her tone becomes mocking as she says her name.

She clutches on to the bill in her hand so tight, Jo fears she may rip it. Jo places a supportive hand on her back to assure she's okay, as Quinn sighs heavily into the shoulder, her face feels significantly hotter than before. She feels as if she could explode. "I'll take care of the cable bill this month, " Jo offers, earning a humorless chuckle from Quinn.

Her brows furrow as she looks at the letter within her friend's hands once again. She wished she could help, but she too was struggling as well. She started taking up some of the bills Quinn couldn't afford with her mother's hospital bills. "What are you going to do?" she hesitantly asks, biting her bottom lip in anticipation. Her friend shakes her head from side to side with frustration. "I don't know, " she states in irritation, shaking the letter before tossing it on the island once again.

She wanders off in a huff stating that she can't believe this, plopping herself on the couch. She feels Jo's presence lingering over her from behind the couch. "Everything wrong is just happening today, " Quinn states, her head resting in her hands. Jo can feel her wallowing in self-pity already, usually, she'd have no patience for it but, she's making an exception for now. "Do you want me to cancel? I could stay with you. We could eat our problems away and figure out what to do." she suggests, gnawing at her bottom lip in anticipation. She wanted to go out on her date tonight but, she couldn't just leave Quinn with this bombshell of news.

Quinn is silent for a moment taking in the news of what the letter encompassed, also taking in the that her mother's condition is worsening. She rubs her eyes before shaking her head. "That would be the responsible thing to do. You need to go out and enjoy your life, I need to take this time alone to figure out what's going on in mine." Her voice isn't as convincing as she'd hope to have sounded but she gets the point across.

Jo presses her lips into a firm line before she reaches across the way to give Quinn a lopsided hug. "I'll text you where I'm at when I get there," she exclaims.

"You don't even know where you're going?"

"I'm wearing the nail polish so you don't get to judge further." she defends herself as she grabs the keys to her car and her clutch. She reaches across the couch once more to give her another hug. "Try not to worry yourself too much, get some sleep before work, " Jo instructs her to which she grunts in response. Jo pets Rudolph's back one last time, catching his attention. "Keep an eye on her, " she commands the golden retriever as she heads out the door.

Quinn silently paces towards the door and presses her ear up against the cool of it, listening to the sounds of the hallway. As soon as she hears the elevator ring and the doors shut from the hallway, she slides her back down the length of the door. She feels like a failure - unable to pay for herself and to pay for her mother. She doesn't remember crying until Rudolph comes over to her and starts licking the tears off her face. Her lip begins to tremble, her chest begins to go feel as if it's caving in on itself. She lets out a wail of defeat as she thinks of her mother.


	5. CHAPTER V

**CHAPTER FIVE**

**(** OVERTIME **)**

**TODAY MARKS DAY four of her overtime.** After receiving the bill from her mother's doctor on Monday, Quinn actually had the gall to ask Edith for overtime for the next few weeks. She explained her situation, that she's in desperate need of hours to get in overtime since she's just a grunt I.T. and not salary. As heartless as Edith appears to be she actually found a soft spot for Quinn's situation once she explained it - she even taught her how to lock up the office. A simple code but one that kept most intruders out. She contemplated on getting another job, perhaps something on the weekends that would absorb all her time.

Granted The Joggernauts weren't going to be pleased, scratch that, Maddox wasn't going to be pleased but, she didn't care. There were a handful of people she held dear to her and were important enough that she'd care for their judgment and his wasn't one of them. Truth be told, she hadn't really spoken that much to him since their spontaneous "date" (at least that's what Jo liked to call it) last weekend.

She debated on disbanding from The Joggernauts to focus more of her time on her work, but she hasn't officially made that decision yet. She's testing the waters right now, if her check came back slightly higher then she would definitely quit running for fun and spend all her livelihood at work. No matter how sad it sounded. She had a responsibility, she had no obligation to keep anything except that.

"Ow," she groaned to herself as felt a tiny shock in her index finger. Absentmindedly she placed the tip of her finger in her mouth to try to dull the pain. The communicator was giving her more hassle than what she thought it would, but it also came in half broken. Instead of getting a new communicator the agent submitted the half broken device, claiming that this piece has been with him for years and he'd hate to see it just tossed away when he knows there's some good use to it. Edith had forwarded the email on to her and placed it in a bin for her to take a look at. It would keep her busy for most of the night, that's for sure.

Most of the department has headed home for the night, including Edith, only three remained including herself. A rubber thimble-like piece was tossed over the edge of her cubby, she peered up to see Dustin looking down at her. "Rubber deflects electricity. You won't get shocked - as much," he informs her. She replies with a thank you and a smile as she places the cover over her index finger.

She begins tapping at the wires again, hoping to hear some form of static through the earpiece but she gets nothing. She lets out a huff of air, in frustration. She's been working on this piece for hours. "Who's it for?" Dustin questions, his voice muffled from behind the divider of the cubby. Quinn stops working with the wires for a moment trying to process who he was talking to until she realizes that it must be her. "Agent Barton," she replies, continuing to fickle with the earpiece now.

"Oh, the Hawkeye," Dustin purrs out before making a bird chirping sound, causing Jack Trautman - the only other individual in the office - to snickering from across the way. Quinn rolls her eyes. "It came practically in two, he's sentimental about it. I've been working on the hearing processor for the past hour and a half and I'm not getting anything," she explains, she can hear her voice echo off against the wood of her desk from how close of proximity she is with it.

"Is he a sentimental guy?" Jack questions over his shoulder, causing Quinn to shrug. "I literally have no clue about who this guy is except he's part of the Avengers," she answers honestly. "He likes to keep to himself, I think," Jack casually says, earning a wry chuckle from Dustin. "Yeah, of course, he does. He's an agent. They all keep to themselves," Dustin leers.

"Just because he's an agent doesn't mean he can't talk about his life," Jack protests.

"Yes, it does. He is a covert agent. I'm pretty sure he's got several targets on his head. Why would he talk about his personal life all willy-nilly?" Dustin argues back.

Quinn slams the wooden rod she had been using to replace wires with on her desk, ending the fickle dispute between her two coworkers. "How long are you two going to be here?" Quinn questions, a slight edge in the tone of her voice. "I'd actually like to get some work done and it's almost twenty-one hundred," she points out, pinching the bridge of her nose in irritation.

There's a small silence in the office before Dustin perks up, "In about a half hour. I'm almost finished." Jack also agrees with him. Quinn nods her head as her desk and whispers out a faint, "Perfect." under her breath.

She pulls up the email that Edith had forwarded and scanned it over once again, Agent Barton did seem fond of the small gadget, it was going to be hard to try to fix and she wasn't sure how happy he'd react if she gave him a new communicator. Perhaps he'd be nonchalant about it, from what she's seen of him she could only imagine that he would but she didn't want to take the chance.

She closed her email and began looking for a way to try to reduce the stress of the flow of electricity between the hearing processor and the mic transmitter. It was going to be tricky as the wires were frayed from it being almost split in two but she can manage to find a way. Time seems to fly-by as she continues to work on the communicator.

She jumps as Dustin lays his hand on her left shoulder. He raises his hand up in surrender, showing he was doing her no harm. "You've been pretty jumpy lately," he notes, the same tone of concern in his voice as Jo's has been lately. It irritated her core. She frowns as she looks up at him. "Tends to happen when you sneak up on me," she gruffly notes, feeling a gnawing sensation of exhaustion in the back of her head. "Try using the soldering tool to place the hearing processor one the chip near the transmission," he suggests lightly. "That may help,"

"What time do you plan on leaving?" Jack asks her, placing his laptop case over his shoulder. Quinn runs a hand across her face as she lazily looks at the time before she returns her attention back to the older gentleman. "Hopefully twenty-two hundred," she softly answers. Dustin rolls his eyes at her. "English-"

"Ten. It is English, it's just military time. I'm sorry, I grew up telling time like that," she hastily spits out at Dustin. "Hopefully, we'll see if Agent Barton's communicator will let me."

He clasps his hand over her shoulder endearingly. "Go home and get some sleep tonight, kiddo," his tone is soft and lulling. It must be the same tone he uses on his kids to get them to go to sleep at night. "I'll try," she hums out in response before bidding the two goodbye. She returns her attention back to the communicator sitting on her desk, she's made some progress since Edith gave it to her. It's not all the way complete yet, not even halfway, but now that she's alone she hopes she can crank it out.

**_~ BOOK ONE: WINTER SOLDIER ~_**

**THE KNOCKING ON the front office** door startles her from her deep focus on working on the communicator. She narrows her eyes at the door, raking her mind as to who could be knocking on I.T.'s door at this time. She turns off the music that was helping her stay awake and cautiously heads towards the door, grabbing her stapler in the process - just in case.

The person raps on the door once more, Quinn is just inches away. Her hand trembles as she places it on the handle and opens it. Her eyes widen at the sight of the person, she feels relieved but the tightness in her chest only seems to increase. She's looking in the eyes of Captain America himself.

"Oh my," she gasps out, dropping the stapler from behind her back. He questioningly glances down at stapler, she follows his gaze. She picks it up off the ground with a nervous chuckle. "I'm so sorry, I'm glad it's just you," she states as she picks herself up to look at him again.

"I'm sorry, it just gets super nerve-wracking around here at night and I'm the only one here, and we usually don't get a lot of people knocking at twenty-two hundred, so I thought if I was in actual trouble I could at least do some damage with the stapler-" her rambling trails off as she continues to gaze into his eyes, sensing how awkward he's feeling. She lets out a long sigh and rubs her hand over her face. "Let's just start over," she suggests, embarrassment flooding her voice. "What can I do for you, mister...America?"

"Rogers," he corrects her, sticking out his hand for her to shake. "Steve Rogers,"

"Quinn Cruise," she introduces herself, shaking his hand. She felt starstruck, she knew her cheeks were flushed and making it obvious that she was in shock. She points to the clear baggy in his hands, "Is that for me?" she questions. He looks towards the plastic bag in his hand and pushes it forward towards her.

"Yes, it is actually. It's my commlink. The hearing part is kind of messed up," he begins to explain. "They said I could just email you guys and send it in for you to take a look at but it's still somewhat of a mystery to me," he jokes, getting a nervous chuckle out of the both of them. "So I figured I'd just drop it off with note attached, but, I saw the light on in here and heard some music, I figured someone must be in here. Here we are," he states, handing over the clear plastic bag with the comm link inside.

Unlike Agent Barton's this communicator wasn't split in half, it was perfectly intact. This would be an easy fix, which was exactly what she needed. "So if no one was here, would you have just put the comm link down beside the door? Because no one is here until Monday," she teases, watching his lips curve into a small smile. "I hadn't thought that far ahead," he sheepishly admits. She examines the comm link once again before placing it under her arm to take into the office.

"I should have this ready in no time, it appears to be in better condition than most. We usually email people when their devices are ready to be picked up. Is there a better way to reach you?" she questions rolling her hands with implication. He lets out another nervous chuckle as he pulls out a small black notebook from his back pocket along with a pen from his tan leather jacket.

"Yeah, can you just call me?" he asks as he begins flipping through the pages of his book for a clear page to write down his number. Quinn inadvertently gives him a strange look as he begins writing down on the bottom of a sheet of paper. She flinches when he rips it out of the book and gives it to her. "Wow," she awes as she takes the number from his hands. "It's like I'm back in high school, I haven't exchanged numbers like this in a while," she teases, causing his cheeks to become flustered.

"I'm joking," she notes with a smile, softly tapping his elbow playfully. "Someone will be in touch with you about your commlink," she wraps up. "But in all seriousness, Apple does offer some classes to help people learn about the internet, and email, and computers, and phones," she looks up at him to see a brow arched up looking bored. "I'm not interested in learning all that,"

"It's the twenty-first century, Cap. You have to learn these things," she protests, once again looking into the bored gaze of Captain America. "If you don't want to learn from those people, I'm more than willing to help you," she offers softly, hoping he doesn't hear the last part of her sentence. He perks up his brow in question at the bold I.T. girl. "Do you know other turn of the century things that aren't related to the internet?"

"Like?" he deepens her question.

"Well, like," her cheeks burn with embarrassment at the conversation. She doesn't know what she's doing right now. "The Berlin Wall coming down? The Berlin Wall being built? The moon landing-"

"We went to the moon?" he interrupts.

She scrunches her face up in surprise that he's never heard of that. "Are you serious? You've been out of the ice how long now, and you've fought aliens from space and you don't know that we've been to the moon?" her voice is incredulous as she watches him flip to a clean page in his black notebook and write down the words "moon landing". "Moon landing and what else did you say?"

"The Berlin Wall?"

"Berlin...Wall..." he mumbles out as he writes down the words across the lines paper. Quinn is surprised that he hasn't been informed of these things, either no one told him nor did he go to the library to at least learn about the things that have happened in the past century he's been absent. He looks up from the desk he was writing on to her for more things to write down, but she shakes her head.

"You need a teacher to bring you up to speed," she softly states, grasping on to his forearm. "If you just use the internet to explore these kinds of things you'll be introduced to one-sided views," she licks her lips anxiously, she fights herself as she thinks of the next words to say but before she can stop herself the words tumble out. "I'm busy, but I can make time. I can help you, Mister Rogers. If you'll let me," He looks up at her with inquisitive eyes, lingering on what ploy she was trying to get at. His lips pressed in a firm line as he gazed into her eyes.

"I don't want anything, I don't want money, I don't want fame, I don't want your affection like most women do. I just want to help, I believe I was put here for a purpose and it was to help people and I can't do that as much as I want to sitting behind a desk all day making codes to create firewalls that hold in secrets," she explains in a tangent.

She looks back up at him to see that he seems to be taken back by these words. She gnaws on her bottom lip, recuperating from her small explosion. She feels embarrassed, too embarrassed to speak anymore, she didn't want to make herself look even more foolish than what she already did. She half expected the infamous Captain to turn and haul it the other way but instead, he stayed. She cautiously raised her gaze back up to him.

"I'll think about it," he simply states, while placing his notebook in his back pocket again. Her heart falters for a moment at his statement, giving her a false sense of hope that she needed. She thanks him, and informs him that she'll get working on his comm link as soon as possible.

He turns to leave but abruptly stops in his tracks, his shoes squeaking in protest at the sudden movement. Quinn looks back over her shoulder to see what's going on as soon as she heard the squeak of his shoes. She meets his gaze once again, his eyes searching hers for something. "I've seen you before," he says, pointing his finger in her direction.

She smiles softly, throwing him another offsetting look. "I work here?" she stresses, as she looks from side to side, her cheeks heating up immensely as she sees that he's looking fondly at her. "Outside of here," he specifies. She laughs nervously, so he has seen her out running before. She always thought he was too fast to even see her. "I usually go for jogs in the park by the Washington Monument-"

"You run with that group," his voice is filled with satisfaction as he realizes why she looks so familiar. Quinn nods her head as she bites her bottom lip. "I do run with the group," she confirms. "Actually, my dog ran after you one time - he actually got loose and tried chasing you, not sure you noticed though since you're always so fast,"

"I didn't, but the next time I see anyone with a dog, I'll try to slow my pace to avoid that from happening again,"

"Don't blame yourself. He's big and stupid, but I love him,"

Steve smiles at the I.T. girl before waving goodbye to her and shutting the office door for her. Quinn returns to her seat, comm link in hand along with his phone number. As she slides into the leathery cushion of her chair she recollects the interaction that just happened and mentally slaps herself for how outrageous she acted. "Why are you so stupid?"


	6. CHAPTER VI

**CHAPTER SIX**

**( **BASIC KNOWLEDGE** )**

**ONCE AGAIN QUINN** **gives herself the **reward of sleeping in for the second Saturday in a row. She wakes up in time to see her clock turn to eight hundred. She takes in a deep yawn before rousing herself out of her comfortable bed.

As she walks out into the living room, she rests her eyes on Jo who is sleeping on the couch in a black cocktail dress, her shoes still clutched in her hand. When Quinn had arrived home last night at twenty-four hundred she had noticed the absence of her roommate, which meant she had the great pleasure of taking Rudolph outside in the middle of the night despite her yearning for sleep.

Quinn crosses over to her and taps her shoulder. No response. Quinn shakes her shoulder until she groans and wakes up bug-eyed, looking around the living room and wondering what happened. "Don't you have to work today?" Quinn questions furrowing her brows as she continues to look down at her exhausted and hungover roommate.

Jo squints her azure colored eyes as if she's scraping the back of her mind to remember if she actually had a shift or not. She groans in frustration once she realizes she does, causing Quinn to give her a tight-lipped smile. However, instead of waking up like Quinn thought she would, Jo face plants back down on the couch, breathing in heavily.

"'m just call off..." she muffles out from the cushion of the couch. Her roommate, in turn, gives her a stern look; for anyone else, they would've had to have her repeat what she just stated but Quinn has played this game for years with her and has finally been able to get it down. "Absolutely not," she tells her.

Jo whips her head out from the cushion to look at Quinn, the audacity in her eyes means she was right about what she was saying. "If I can work overtime all week and still be able to wake up in time for The Joggernauts, you can go to work after a night of partying,"

"I can't. I'm not strong like you are," Jo whines in protest, trying her best to suck up to her.

"My sweet barista," Quinn's voice is sweet as if she were talking to Rudolph. "You need to get up to go to work. You're twenty-seven, we have bills to pay." Quinn pats her back several times, before standing up and heading into the kitchen.

Trying to cope with a hungover Jo was like trying to steer a herd of cats into something. It usually ended up with Quinn being right about something and Jo feeling immensely guilty for the things she said to her. Although, Quinn didn't take most of it to heart, or at least tried not to. When Jo was tired she was a completely different person, not the roommate she adored.

"I deserve a day off," Jo deems from the couch, taking her phone out of her clutch where she had stored it from last night. She attempted to click it on, shielding her tired eyes from the bright glare of the screen, instead she got the low battery sign and it shut off instantly. She tosses her phone on the ground in frustration, with a thud, causing Quinn to turn around. "I'm not going in," Jo states, raising her voice, it cracks wildly.

Jo fiddles with the nail polish on her thumbnail as she states she's not going in again. "Jo, you need to at least call-"

"I'm not going in!" Jo raises her voice to cover Quinn's, causing her to get annoyed. Rudolph has now made his appearance out of Jo's room, where he usually sleeps. He stretches his front legs while letting out a yawn that half sounds like a whine. He's come out to investigate why Jo is making a racket in the loft. He paces over to her and plants his big head on Jo's chest, forcing her to pet him.

"Say it with me, Ruddy, I don't want to go to work," Jo sings out, causing Rudolph to look inquisitively at her, cocking his head from side to side as Jo repeats the words. Quinn rolls her eyes at her theatrics. Finally, it boils over and Rudolph begins howling with Jo as she sings she doesn't want to go to work.

Quinn's blood is boiling with annoyance, she quickly crosses the room and scolds Rudolph, telling him to stop. Her eyes turn to glare at Jo, who sheepishly yet bravely returns the glare. "Please get ready for work," Quinn's voice sounds defeated as she shuts her eyes and pinches the bridge of her nose in frustration.

It takes her a moment to look at Jo in the eye after listening to her say she's not going to work for the eighth time. When she looks at her she's met with her sheepish gaze again, a coy look coming across her features. "I'm-"

"'Not going to work', yeah I get it. Just don't blame me when you turn thirty and you have to explain to everyone that you live in a loft with a roommate still."

"I could say the same for you,"

Quinn feels her blood boil over in anger at this point, Jo has finally pushed her annoyance over the edge. She turns to stomp away into the kitchen, looking into the fridge for her ingredients for a smoothie. It's not all her fault that she has bills to take care of, especially with her mom's condition.

It was hard to save any money for whatever future she wanted, she could only hope that overtime at S.H.I.E.L.D. would give her the right push to the path she wanted to go down in the money department. She didn't need to take life lesson's from a twenty-seven-year-old who still worked as a barista at Starbucks.

She knew jobs were hard to come by in her field but she could at least attempt to look, it's not like she couldn't get her foot in the door as practice, that's what she's doing with S.H.I.E.L.D. Although, she didn't have to seek them out, they found her.

Looking over into the living room, she could see Jo, starting to fall asleep on the couch once again. She places all the ingredients she could find for her smoothie on to the kitchen island, just as Rudolph made his way over to her and whines. She scoffs, as she looks down at the dog, reaching into the cabinet to grab a can of wet dog food.

She glares out into the living room once again, the least Jo could do was help and she wasn't even doing that or making an attempt to. As she put Rudolph's food down, she paced back over to the fruits that were placed on the island, grabbing the blending machine from behind her on the counter.

Without warning, and before putting any fruits into the machine, Quinn turned it on as high as it would go. The machine made a startling loud, grinding, noise, half scaring Rudolph and forcing Jo to jump up off the couch like she had been caught in the middle of a tornado unprepared. Quinn could barely make out what she was saying over the noise.

"What?" she questioned loudly. "I can't hear you over the sound of the blender," she jokes, pointing to the blender behind her. Jo flops her arms to the side, giving her an irritated look of disapproval. Quinn turns the blender off for a moment to listen to what Jo was saying. "There's not even fruit in there," Jo notes, an icy tone in her voice.

Quinn looks back at the blender and then back to Jo. "Huh, would you look at that," she sighs out, earning an eye roll from her roommate. "You're so annoying," Jo calls out to her as she leaves the vicinity towards her bedroom down the hall. Quinn snickers to herself in the kitchen. "Right back at you," she calls after her, unsure if she heard her until she hears the door slam in response.

She continues giggling to herself as she put the fruits into the blender, turning it on at a monotonous pace, so it wouldn't be as loud as before. She beat Jo at her own game. She looks down at her feet to see Rudolph sitting beside her, tan leash in his mouth. She takes the leash out of his mouth and places it up on the counter, his tail wagging in excitement.

"In a few, bub," she tells the excited animal. For some reason, she feels a strange pang of guilt. Had she been too mean to Jo? As annoying and irresponsible she was, Jo has been dealing with her shifted overtime, meaning some times she has to decline dates or hanging out with her work friends to stay at home with Rudolph.

Quinn shouldn't feel guilty, especially since she forced her to take out Rudolph last night at midnight after a long day - and an embarrassing conversation with Steve Rogers. She peers down the hallway to see Jo's door tightly shut, the sound of it being slammed rang in her mind like an alarm.

Before she leaves with Rudolph, she raps on the door where her friend resides, waiting for a reply or at least hear footsteps leading over to the door. When she didn't hear anything she bit her lip, before uttering out an apology.

She drops the plate of toast covered with strawberry jam, and fruit by the door that she had made for recompense for her actions earlier. Even though she shouldn't feel guilty, she walks out the front door with a stabbing pain of remorse in her gut.

_**~ BOOK ONE: WINTER SOLDIER ~**_

**SHE DIDN'T EXPECT Rudolph to be** panting so heavily as they neared the Washington Monument, they had barely even come halfway on their walk and his breathing was ragged. She also didn't jog the entire way over. She gazed down at the friendly animal with concern, only to be greeted by his half attempt to jump up on her. She narrowly dodged the jump, his paws thudding against the cool pavement.

"What's going on bud? Have you tired already?" She questions the retriever, crouching down to his level where he sits and pants in her face. "You're the one who was whining to go on a walk," she points out, petting the side of the dog's face.

After looking at her surroundings of people jogging and walking on the pavement near the monument she guides Rudolph over to a patch of grass, out of the way of foot traffic. She reaches into her cinch bag and pulls out a collapsible water bowl and fills it halfway with her own water bottle for Rudolph to lap up.

She begins stroking the dog's golden fur as she begins to let her mind trail off to what she could do to help her mother. It hadn't been too long ago since she last saw her; around Christmas time she had taken time to fly up to New York City to visit.

It pains her to think of her mother in the hospital, especially with her condition. She could barely recognize her and when she was finally able to calm her down her mother asked where her brother was. She instinctively bit the inside of her cheek as she thought of the last time she had seen her brother, it had been years ago. Before everything went wrong.

She was too busy caught up in her thoughts to even hear the familiar footsteps she had gotten used to hearing. She didn't notice she had company until Rudolph starts pulling on his leash, yanking her wrist forward and herself off the ground as she protested. "Rudolph," she warned in a low voice. She wasn't in the mood to play catch-the-dog.

Thankfully, he stopped straining against the least just in time for him to jump up on a figure in greeting. Quinn didn't catch a look at who the individual was, she latches her free hand on to the collar of the retriever and pulls him away from the person. "I'm so sorry," she begins to apologize, pulling back on Rudolph's collar once again as he attempts to jump up onto the person. "Don't worry about it," the individual says.

The familiar sound of his voice catches her attention off, guard. Her eyes widen as she peers up at Steve Rogers. Her mind becomes flustered as she tries to think of an excuse for Rudolph's behavior. Before she can he points to the golden retriever. "Is this my attacker?" he teases with a light-hearted smile as he crouches down next to him, beginning to pet him. The dog rolls over on his back for belly rubs from Steve.

"I wouldn't say he's an attacker," Quinn speaks up finally finding her voice. "More like an avid fan," she clarifies jokingly as she sits next Rudolph, partaking in the belly rubs. "It's a little late for you to be out here, don't you think?" Quinn states, remembering back to the time she had left the loft and estimating the ten minutes it usually takes to get to the park. Steve shrugs his shoulders. "Could say the same for you,"

"I came home last night pretty late, then I woke up late. What's your excuse?"

"I've been here for a while," he admits. "I just lap," he explains standing up, disturbing the dog for his relaxed state. He offers her a hand to help her up off the ground, which she takes. She tries not to notice how easy it was for him to pick her up off the ground. Her becomes dizzy just thinking about the run he takes, the monuments reflection pool is the size of a football field and he laps it like it's nothing.

"Thought about what you said last night," he pipes up, catching her attention. She cringes at the mere thought of the conversation they had last night, she wants to apologize for how she acted - she blames sleep deprivation.

Before she can even utter out a single syllable of an apology he adds, "It takes a lot of time to learn everything that's happened for the past century. Most of the people I know are too busy to even offer," he informs her, crossing his arms across his chest.

It takes all her will power to not look at the muscles tightening in his upper arms, the fit of the shirt he was wearing complimented them well. She could feel her cheeks become flustered as she reminded herself to keep eye contact with him.

"I was thinking, I need a teacher," he says with a smile. It takes a moment for Quinn to process what he was saying. A teacher? Was he actually being serious? "Uh, yeah, sure," her voice cracks as she continues to look at him wide-eyed with shock. "To be honest, I didn't think you'd be serious about it after how I came across last night," she begins to become sheepish as he chuckles about their unorthodox meeting.

He shuffles around to his back pocket, pulling out the small black notebook as he had last night. "I actually didn't get your phone number last night. Figured I'd need it to contact you," he explains, flipping through the pages once again, trying to find a blank page.

Her breath hitches in her throat as she tries not to snicker about how old fashioned this was. She bites her inner cheek to prevent her from rudely smirking at him. Instead, Quinn places her hand over the notebook, causing him to look up at her with confusion. "We're not exchanging numbers like this. It's not nineteen ninety-five," she scolds him, gently caressing the spine of the notebook to close it.

"You should have a phone, all agents are given one," she instructs him. He reaches into his back pocket once again and pulls out the slender black cell phone, placing it within her small hand that she had stuck out for him. He watches as Quinn's brows raise up in surprise. Worry seems to fill him for some reason as he starts to wonder what's wrong.

"Most people have a passcode on their phone," she hums out, tapping on the screen for the dial pad. "As an agent I suggest you put one on for protection," she presses the phone up to her ear to listen to the dial tone, once it starts ringing, she pulls out her phone. It vibrates to life as a strange phone number lights up the screen. Quinn taps the red "end call" button on Steve's phone and then adds her name next to the number in his contacts.

"Here," she hands the phone back to Steve, his eyes flickering down at the screen curiously as he looks at her name, along with the number beneath it. "Consider that lesson point five of your tech training. This way you can save your paper for other things and it's already on your phone and the other person's phone,"

"Smart," he praises.

"Basic knowledge," she corrects with a scoff.

His eyes squint at the screen and then back to her. "How do I put a passcode on this? Can you show me?" he asks, causing Quinn to let out a breathy chuckle. "Can we at least sit on a bench? We can just go over the basics of your phone, together," she suggests, slightly nudging Rudolph with her leg just to make sure he's still responsive.

"Lead the way," he offers her, holding out his arm in a gesture for her to take charge. Quinn smirks as she begins walking beside him at a leisure pace. A new pace that she wasn't sure he knew about.


	7. CHAPTER VII

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

**( **BE BETTER** )**

**AGENT BARTON'S** **COMM link was almost **finished by the time Edith stalked her through the office. Quinn had stayed up until midnight on Friday, trying her best to get the tech to show some sign of life but ended up failing. She had to rewire the whole communicator to get some sort of frequency out of the hearing processor. She thought about it from time to time over the weekend, jotting notes down on how to improve the comm link while at the same time keeping it in its original style. The comm link Agent Barton preferred became outdated a couple of years ago, she hadn't seen any sense, yet here she was working on one.

She bites down her lip, as she heard the nearing footsteps of Edith, she obviously wonders how this project is coming along. That's what this comm link was, a project, not just an easy task like Steve's. His was the first she worked on this morning, it took about twenty minutes to fix the frayed wire that caused the static to become an issue in the earpiece. It was newer than Barton's though, recently issued out to him. She could tell by the sheer size, it was tiny in comparison. She tossed it in a plastic bag and placed it in her blue bin as soon as she finished it. After which, she pulls out her phone and quickly sent a message to Steve stating his comm link was ready whenever he wanted to pick it up.

She began tinkering with Barton's communicator afterward - she's been working on it for the past hour now. She was ready to give up at this point. She had gotten so close to getting it fixed up on Friday, but her notes from over the weekend seemed to take her in a different direction. She couldn't get back to the place where she was on Friday which irked her to her core. She lets out an agitated sigh as she tosses the soldering tool against her desk, grabbing the back of her neck to relieve any stress that had built up in her shoulders.

She doesn't hear Edith anymore, she peers from side to side to make sure the coast is clear of her. She quickly sticks her arm out from her area, and attempts to tap Dustin on the shoulder but instead, she smacks him on the underside of his right arm. She hears him hiss in pain before seeing his face lean back out of the cubby area to give her a questionable look. "I need help," she mouths to him. His brows knit together tightly as if he's trying to deepen the question. "Barton," she whispers, her eyes darting quickly to the comm link on her desk.

Dustin nods his head, he understands. He peaks his head out to scan around the room for Edith before sticking his large hand out for Quinn to fork over the communicator. She quickly shoved the device in his hand and gives his hand a gentle squeeze for him to be careful with handling it. Slowly, he retracts his hand, taking the communicator with it. Quinn waits a moment before handing him the notes that she took over the weekend for the device, being careful to not squeak the wheels of her chair as she pushes herself over to his desk.

She gently places the notebook on his desk next to his elbow, catching his attention. He holds up his index finger for her to wait, as he grabs his own white bin and holds it out for her. She reaches inside to pick up the contents of the basket, a shock cuff that an Agent Verlander has dropped off. One of the links seems to be malfunctioning. Her eyes meet with his and she gives him a curt nod in agreement as they trade items.

It's something that they're not supposed to do in their department - something about if something goes wrong out in the field they can trace it back to whoever worked on the device and get them in trouble. If too many people work on one thing, it's hard to pinpoint who did what to the device and when it happened. However, Dustin and Quinn do this every once in a while when they get stumped on a device.

Quinn is thankful for this, the last option she would be to go to Edith and she couldn't handle her right now. She rolls backward towards her desk to start working on Agent Verlander's shock cuff when she abruptly runs into something.

She swivels in her chair to stare into the cold eyes of Edith, who looks down at her disapprovingly. She can feel her confidence shrink down to the size of a grape, as she swallows a hard lump in the back of her throat. "_What_ is happening here?" the supervisor demands, her voice filled with anger.

The question seems to have drawn the attention of everyone in the office towards the two of them, making Quinn feel even smaller with all the eyes on her. "She was just asking for help," Dustin explains, finding his voice before Quinn could even think of a response. She shoots him a confused look. He was going to get himself into more trouble than she was. "The frequencies on Agent Barton's commlink are a little frazzled. She asked for my help on how to fix it since I debugged the newest set of links that were given to the agents."

The supervisor crosses her arms, her face softening a bit towards the two. He had actually come up with a good excuse. Quinn takes the time where Edith is distracted to hide the shock cuff that she had traded with him under her leg, suppressing the crinkling sound the bag made with a small cough. Edith's gaze falls on Quinn, "How is Captain Roger's comm link?"

Quinn looks at her for a moment before finding her words. "It's complete," she answers truthfully, picking up the small comm link from her desk and turning it on to show that there was no disturbance. Edith plucks it out of her hands and places it to her ear, testing it, ensuring that it actually works. A part of Quinn feels insulted as she inspects the metallic communicator, another part feels as if she's done something wrong. The inquisitive stares from her co-workers didn't seem to help her from doubting herself.

Edith hands the comm link back to her, citing that she did a particularly excellent job. The compliment takes Quinn - and everyone around her - back. Edith usually never compliments anyone, only herself in meetings where she gathers the whole department to tell them they're failing. "Have you spoken with Captain Rogers yet? His note specifies to call him when it is finished," Edith notes.

Quinn begins to feel the sweat build up along the back of her neck. She didn't call Steve - she texted him as a courtesy just in case he was in the middle of something. Edith couldn't find out about their unprofessional communication, it would make the department look bad and it would definitely set off the older woman. Quinn stammers as she tries to find an excuse, Edith could easily look at her call log to see that she never really called Steve.

"No," she answers meekly. "I've been busy working on Agent Barton's comm. I had forgotten to do so,"

Edith let's out an irritated sigh as she crosses her arms. "What's the first thing we do after we finish fixing something?" she questions her, her voice half sounding bored with this conversation. Quinn's eyes shift from the supervisor to the floor submissively. "We contact the agent,"

"Did you contact Captain Rogers?"

"No ma'am,"

"It's a simple task, Cruise," Edith states. "If you can't handle that, how can you handle anything outside of work?" Quinn didn't dare look up or even give a response, to do so would initiate an argument. Instead, she lets her continue to berate and humiliate her in front of her co-workers as she sits helplessly. "If I wanted to baby someone I could've had kids instead of devoting most of my time cleaning up after everyone's messes here, including yours," The words are like fire as they are spat out from behind clenched teeth.

Edith walks towards Quinn's desk, alerting her to spin around to watch what she was doing. Edith picks up the corded phone sitting on her desk and hands it to her. Quinn takes it, looking up at her questioningly and uneasy. "Call him," she demands.

Quinn continues to look up at her for a few moments in confusion before sliding her chair towards her desk and grabbing the folded lined paper that was torn out of Steve's black notebook. She can feel Edith's presence along with her peers wandering eyes as she types in his phone number. She begins gnawing at her bottom lip as she waits and listens to the ringing of the line.

She wishes that he doesn't answer so she can leave him a voicemail and send him a text telling him not to listen to it before he got the chance. Relief starts to pour into as she listens to the fourth ring, he wasn't going to pick up.

"Hello?" The voice on the other line of the receiver answers, her shoulders tense up at the sound of his voice. She doesn't understand why she's nervous just talking to him over the phone. "Hello Captain Rogers, this is Quinn from the I.T. department. How are you today?" Her voice is sweet as she tried to mask the sound of unease in her tone. "Quinn?" he questions, she can tell that he's confused as to why she's calling him. He must've actually read her text. She couldn't tell if she was happy he did or embarrassed for confusing him with a call. "I'm fine-"

"Just wanted to let you know that you comm link is ready to be picked up whenever you'd like," she interrupts him before he can ask questions as to why she was calling. "The department is open until five. If you can't make it in before then, please let us know so we can accommodate when you'd like to pick it up. We can send someone out to deliver it to you if you wish, or we can leave it up at the front desk if the building."

There's silence on the other end of the receiver for a moment. She hopes that he can understand what's going on - if not she'd explain later. "I'll pick it up before five," he states, her body seems to relax momentarily as his voice returns to its normal gruffness. "Perfect, we'll see you then, Captain Rogers," her voice is even perkier this time, a clear sign that something is happening. "All right then. Goodbye," he bids as she says farewell to him as well.

She hangs up the phone with an audible click, a sense of relief washing over her. However, she's not out of the woods yet. She looks back to see Edith's jaw tighten before she lets out a deep breath through her nose, not a sigh. "Just a reminder," she beckons the attention of the whole department. "Please call the respective agent or person who's tech you're working on after it's finished. Thank you,"

She turns to look back down at Quinn, who's lips are drawn down into a frown. "I'm sorry," she whispers out. Edith narrows her snake-like eyes down at the I.T., making her feel uncomfortable. "Be better," she hisses out, giving her a tight-lipped frown of disappointment before walking away, leaving Quinn to her own devices.

She is unsure why but her heart sinks as she watches Edith walk away in annoyance. She didn't like disappointing people, but she also wasn't a fan of the public humiliation that came with her lecture. She preferred things to be more private, that's why she primarily kept to herself at work besides her usual friendly conversations with Dustin and sometimes Jack.

She could feel her lungs quivering within her chest, she wanted to cry out that she had tried her best, she even went above and beyond for Steve but her work would go unnoticed. It bugged her. She had taught herself to keep her composure together in a public, even though she desperately wanted to break down. Instead, she takes the shock cuff she had taken from Dustin and begins the lengthy process of fixing it.

She's almost down with the cuff when she hears the receptionist in the front office welcome someone in an unusually enthusiastic tone. This piques her curiosity, as she peers around the cubby to see Dustin do the same - giving her the same confused look as she displayed. He shrugs his shoulders and looks towards the receptionist's front desk, she does the same.

She barely has time to glance at the individual in the front office before her phone starts to ring. "Hello," she picks up curiously. "Miss Cruise - Captain Rogers is here to pick up the comm link. He said you were the one to repair it," Kara's - the receptionist- voice sounded extremely bubbly. Quinn had to move the phone away from her ear to avoid damaging her hearing as she spoke.

"I'll be right up," she replies before quickly hanging up the phone. She sets aside the small tool kit she uses to repair tech and grabs the small bag with the communicator in it.

She peers around to the other cubby's of her co-workers to see everyone is seemingly minding their own business. She takes no chances, hiding her actions as she tears off a small sheet of blank paper from a random note on her desk. She hurries as she scribbles down a message before hiding it between her index finger and the note on the comm links plastic bag.

She makes her way up towards the front office, trying her best to not look at anyone as she passes them in fear of being caught with a note. She feels irked with having to sneak around her work the way she was doing, she should be able to have a normal conversation with Steve without anyone thinking anything of it but, of course, there'd be instigators, gossipers. She couldn't risk it, especially with Edith hounding her to '_be better_'.

As she walks into the office her eyes immediately connect with Steve's. She tries her best not to emit anyone personal emotion as she sees him - especially seeing as she's joined with Edith in the same office. She's watching her like a hawk. On the other hand, Kara is staring up at Steve like she's never seen another man before. Her usual, dull and moody grey eyes have lit up at the sight of him. She looks smitten.

"Captain Rogers," she greets, averting her eyes to the floor. "Miss Cruise," he greets back, his voice is as distant as it was when they had first met a couple of days ago - like he was talking to a stranger. She extends her arm to reveal his new and improved communicator. "You'll notice that your commlinks receiver has been fixed and somewhat improved," she informs him as he takes the plastic bag that held the small technology.

"If the static comes back feel free to use a higher frequency then switch back, it should be able to help," she watches his eyes skim the small hidden note on the bag. He gives her a small nod, not even looking up at her as he inspects the small communicator. "If you have any other problems or questions, feel free to -" she hesitates for a moment, remembering that he's in the process of learning how to use everything. "Give us a call,"

"I'll keep that in mind," he says with a small smile.

Quinn can physically feel Kara beaming at him, making her presence feel insufferable to her. "Ladies," he addresses the three women in the room, giving each a quick glance - holding Quinn's for a half a second longer than Kara and Edith. He gives a small wave before he turns on his heel and walks away. Kara sighs in a daze as if she's caught in a daydream.

Quinn makes an effort to not roll her eyes at her. Instead, she follows Steve's lead and turns away from the front office to return to her seat. She's not too far away to hear Edith snap at the receptionist, "Kara, please don't make yourself seem so desperate." Quinn runs a hand over he mouth hastily as tries to cover up the smile that's starting to form on her lips.


	8. CHAPTER VIII

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

**( **THE MOON LANDING** )**

**THE CLOCK ON the wooden desk **flips it's large ivory numbers to read a quarter past nine. The clicking of a pen is the only abrupt sound that can be heard in the office, aside from the soft hum of music. Quinn sits at her desk with the lamp on, tapping her foot against the linoleum floor to the beat of the music playing. She skims over the sheet of paper in her hands, not a single comprehensible word on the page, just codes for the stitch in the upgrade she said she'd look over for Jack.

She clicks the pen top down as soon as she finds something that could lead to a possible error in the system and circles it in red ink before returning to tapping her foot to the beat. There's a knocking on the door that takes her off guard for a moment, then her heart settles into a steady beat as she realizes what - who - it is. Tonight she's actually expecting company. She crosses the office to open the door to the department and is greeted by the appetizing smell of takeout food wafting into her face. Her stomach gurgles as she smells the air.

"I'm glad you're here," she chirps. "I thought you weren't going to show up at first." Her mouth starts watering as the scent of takeout makes it's way into her nostrils again. She props open the door to let Steve through, taking the warmth of the food away from her. "I asked you what you wanted, you said Chinese," he points out. "There's no Chinese in the canteen."

"I appreciate it," she grins, directing him to her desk, placing the plastic bags they were in with a crinkle on the top of the pale wood. She hadn't eaten since one, she was famished. It didn't dawn on her that she hadn't eaten that much until he asked her what she wanted via text (she was proud). Since then she's been craving for her food to arrive, even chomping on the base of her red pen to send away the hunger in her gut.

"Can we eat before the lesson, or can I at least eat during? I don't want to seem rude or anything. I just haven't eaten in a while," she asks him for his opinion as she opens up the bag of takeout, letting a humid puff of air out of the bag. She waves her hand in front of it, pushing away the steam. She looks over to see his hands stuffed in his pockets, slightly smiling. It makes her chest feel tight but at the same time, she feels flustered. "I don't care," he simply states. "Eat before if you haven't eaten in a while," She pulls out Dustin's chair from his desk and pats the grey cushion, indicating that he can sit down. He carefully sits down, pulling the chair closer to her desk as she divvies out the food.

"Chopsticks or fork?" she questions, holding up the crimson packet of chopsticks and a fork with a napkin in a plastic film. He studies the two for a split second and then confidently says, "Chopsticks."

Quinn tosses him the package with a scoff. "Show off," she says under her breath with a playful eye roll. "What do I owe you?" she asks as she hands him the white folding container of sweet and sour chicken. His brows furrow as he takes the container in his hands, he meets her gaze as she begins pulling out her wallet from her purse. "Don't worry about it." he shrugs off, unwrapping the chopsticks and digging into his food.

He watches as she digs through the bag and finds the receipt, looking for her order. Once she finds it she reaches into her wallet and pulls out a generous amount of money - more than what the receipt says as she tries to calculate the tax. He reaches a hand out and places it over the wallet, catching her attention. "It's really okay. This one's on me," he encourages his statement with a small smile. Something inside of Quinn clicks as watches the smile cross his face.

She can't quite pinpoint the right emotion but whatever it was it makes her flustered. She places the money back in her wallet with a sigh. "Fine but I buy the next meal," she warns him, earning a chuckle. She snaps her fingers catching his attention, he's a bit taken back as she points at him. "I'm serious," she emphasizes, her stare is deadpan. He nods his head slowly in agreement, a confused look on his face. "It's the twenty-first century. I can pay for my own food,"

"I'm being chivalrous,"

"That's something a lot of people don't do in this day and age," she counters back, finally sitting down in her chair and popping open her container of food. The smell of the lo mein makes her mouth water. "There are no gentlemen in this century?" Steve questions just as she takes a large bite of food. It takes her a moment to respond as she quickly chews the noodles. "Few and far between," she notes after she gulps down the bite.

Steve hums as he takes a bite of his food along with Quinn. He nods his head as he takes in the information. "Who says I'm not one of them?" he questions. Quinn tilts her head to the side as she thinks about Steve and what defines a gentleman. "I suppose you could be, you come from the time where people were the most gentlemanly, but then again I don't know you that well," she quips, wrapping another group of noodles around her fork. "I'd say we're becoming fast friends," he declares.

"Are we friends?"

"Is this not what friends do? Eat and talk?"

"I'd say we'd have a student-teacher relationship, but if you want to be friends we could be friends," Quinn provokes him with a smirk. He smiles as he shakes his head at her antics, grasping on to a piece of chicken with his chopsticks. "Student," Quinn indicates to him by pointing to him, in a low voice. "Teacher," she points to herself. She repeats this three more times to get her point across, as he begins to chuckle lowly.

"All right teacher, what are we learning today?" he inquires, brushing off his hands on a napkin and pushing aside his sweet and sour chicken. She hums as she finishes her bite, reaching into her desk drawer. "You need to address me formally, by the way, it's miss Cruise from now on," she teases. "And you're stripped of your title of captain, you're now just Student Rogers,"

Steve rolls his eyes playfully and nods his head. "Yes, miss Cruise," he drones out, crossing his arms across his chest. She pulls out a thick little book, with an astronaut on the cover looking down at the Earth from a satellite, and gives it to him. There are different colored tabs for footnotes coming out of the sides of it, making Steve's lips press into a thin line at how many there were. "We're going to the moon today," she beams.

"_Magnificent Desolation,_" he reads off the cover of the book. Quinn moves in closer to look at the cover of the book, she carefully takes it out of his hands. "This book is amazing," she brags as she points to the cover. "Please tell you at least know who that is."

Steve's brows knit together as he tries to figure out the answer. It's hard to see if there's anyone within the astronaut suit since the black helmet hides any human features. He quickly glances at her, seeing her eyes light up with excitement as she waits for his answer. He's going to disappoint her with his answer. He studies the figure for a few more moments trying to put the puzzle together but it's not clicking for him.

He hands her back the book, shaking his head. He sees her eyes falter a bit in disappointment but she tries to mask it with enthusiasm in her voice. "That's okay, that's why we're here," she chides, as she points to the astronaut with a polished fingertip. "This is actually supposed to be Buzz Aldrin, I don't think that's an actual picture of him in space, but as you can see he's also the author of the book," she explains, watching Steve take out his small notebook from his back pocket and write down Buzz Aldrin's name.

"He's the very first person to ever step foot on the moon. I actually have a clip of the moon landing that I'll show you, but he's the guy that says _'This is one small step for man and one giant leap for mankind' _as he's taking the first steps on the moon. Are you actually writing this down?"

"Some parts," Steve sheepishly admits as he picks up his pen again. "_'Quinn really likes space'_," he reads aloud as he writes it down in his notebook with a sly smirk on his face. She pushes his arm playfully telling him to stop. "I do like space. Reminds me of how small we are and makes me really wonder what's out there-"

"Aliens, war," Steve cuts her off in a monotone voice while leaning on his elbow, earning a slight glare from her. "Sorry," he apologizes for bursting her bubble. "Continue,"

Quinn sighs before she delves into the book. Steve nods his head as he listens to her explain the moon landing, he feels as though he's going to be here a while as she gushes about how good the book is. However, he can't help but find it charming the way her eyes lit up as she talked about space. If only space were as kind as the words that were coming out of her mouth as she explained the history behind the moon landing, the cold war, how people think the moon landing was faked.

This lesson seemed a bit more planned than the lesson they shared at the monument, that was a spur of the moment meeting. Quinn had even mentioned that what they were learning that day was basic knowledge. He has somewhat used what he had learned a little within the little time there was between lessons.

"Do you have any questions?" she asks after the clip of the moon landing stops. It had been an hour since they had started talking about the event, both of their positions have changed from their upright postures to more relaxed. Quinn's feet lay perched up on the flat of her desk, while Steve sits in his chair backward, his head resting on his arm on the back of the chair. He shakes his head slightly with a smirk.

"I have a lot but, I think I can figure out the answers in the notes. You're not going to quiz me, are you?" he questions in a tired voice. Quinn shakes her head. "I'm here to help, not to traumatize you with tests like in school," she informs him. "Besides you're a big boy, I think you can figure some things out on your own." She earns a tired chuckle from him, making her smile as well. "Is there something, in particular, you wanted to learn by the way? I want to cover it in case I miss it,"

"I'll let you know when I can think of something," he says, rubbing his eyes. They sit in silence for a moment, both not wanting to acknowledge that they're tired. Quinn couldn't go home just yet, she needed to stay a little longer. "You'd have fun with Tony," he says, breaking the silence between them. "Stark?" she questions for clarification, watching him nod his head lazily. She snorts at the thought her and Tony Stark actually getting along. "A bit conceited for my taste," she states.

"Tony? Conceited?" Steve jokes, earning a tired chuckle from Quinn. "Tony Stark, the billionaire playboy," Quinn says listlessly with a bitter tone in her voice. Just to be compared with Tony Stark makes her feel useless. Tony was smart but he also had money, whereas she was here trying to take advantage of overtime just to get by. "Speaking of playboys," she starts looking over at him with sleep filled eyes. "Do most women act like Kara when they're around you?"

"Who?"

"Kara," she points up at the main office where they had stood earlier in the day. "The receptionist."

"Oh," he hums out. "How did she act?"

"I don't know," she shrugs, sitting up from her lounged position. She flips her hair over her shoulders repeatedly, giving him a goofy smile, causing him to laugh a little. "Ditsy? she clarified. Steve rubs his forehead as he tries to recollect the events as to what happened earlier. His lips tug into a thin line as he thinks. "Most of the time," he answers rubbing his chin. "You didn't act-" he reinterprets the hair flipping as best as he could, causing her to grin. "-Like that?"

"I was prepared to staple you to death,"

Steve nods his head as he recalls their unorthodox meeting a few days ago. "Still an option?"

"Still an option," she confirms as she grabs her stapler and unclicks it. He pushes her hand down as she lets out a tired giggle. "I used to not be able to talk to women," he confesses, earning an insulted look from Quinn. "Am I not a woman?" she questions, fake offense lingering in her voice. "You are, you are," he backs down easily once again, too tired to even think of a comeback.

He could tell that she was tired, so was he. "Ready to go?" he questions her, getting ready to stand up. Quinn's eyes falter as he suggests leaving. "No, I have to stay here," she informs him, grabbing the shock cuff that she had been working on, preparing to work on it as soon as he leaves. Instead, he gives her a concerned look. "Why are you here all the time?"

"Personal," she answers in a curt voice, she eyes him defensively. He's hit a soft spot, he easily backs down. "You should get some sleep," he tries to convince her. She nods her head at his words in agreement. "I should, but I can't," she informs him, determination flooding her voice. "I made a promise, I have to keep it," she gnaws at her bottom lip as she thinks of her mother, trying not to cry in front of Steve.

"You should go through, I need to actually do some work," she instructs him, patting him on the shoulder. "I'll be here tomorrow if you wanted to stop by, same time," she assures him with a soft smile. He yet again purses his lips as he stands up, getting ready to leave. Before he turns to leave, he slings his jacket over her shoulders, surprising her. She looks up at him confused.

"I'll be back for that," he declares, pointing to the leather jacket strewn across her. "It's incentive. Keep it safe," he instructs her. She smiles softly up at him, tugging at the jacket on her shoulders. "I will,"


	9. CHAPTER IX

**CHAPTER NINE**

**( **T.K.O.** )**

**THE WOODEN FLOORBOARDS creaked underneath the** weight of Quinn's feet as she walked through the hallway, leather jacket still slung around her shoulders. She let out a deep yawn as shuffled her way to her room.

Before she entered she looked at Jo's door, shut tightly as it had been since yesterday. She wondered if Jo was even home still. She hadn't gotten a word out of her since their argument on Saturday. She let out a sigh before dropping her dignity and making her way towards the door.

She stood outside, ready to knock, but hesitated as she thought of the correct words to say to her. She had royally messed up with trying to convince her to work when she didn't want to; although they did need the money. Jo wasn't a child, she was an adult who could make her own decisions and Quinn shouldn't rely on her all the time.

Before she could even knock on the door, it swung open to reveal an unfamiliar face. The man jumped in surprise at her presence, as did Quinn. Instinctively, and relying on pure impulse, she rears her fist back and it connects with the strange man's face before he can even process what is happening.

As he lands on his face she notices the peculiar lack of clothes on his body, causing her brows to raise in surprise as she gawks at his backside. She hears a shout from within the room, then a half-nude Jo approaches the man's unconscious body, crouching beside him. Quinn quickly makes the connection, taking an involuntarily step backward as Jo looks up at her with confused yet frightened eyes.

"What is wrong with you?" she shouts as she begins feeling the man's neck for a pulse. Quinn swoops down, lifting one shoulder of the man and flipping him over to his back, before propping him up against the wall. She averts her eyes as Jo covers up his nude. "Well, now what am I supposed to do to?" Jo asks in exasperation, caressing the man's face endearingly.

"For starters, I think we should address the fact that he's not dead," Quinn suggests, biting down on her thumb as she looks at the bright red mark resting on the man's chin. Jo, in turn, glares up at her roommate. Quinn was sure she hated her now.

"What the hell is your problem?" Jo spits out angrily, causing Quinn to take another step back. "You can't just go around throwing blows like that? He's in such terrible shape, you're basically a cop. You could've killed him!" she shouts.

Quinn raises her hands up in surrender, jacket squeaking along with her. "That's an exaggeration. Also, it's one thirty; I was coming to apologize for how I've been acting, and a strange man comes out of nowhere. A reasonable person who's scared would have done the same," she tries to defend herself.

Jo sighs in frustration as she looks down at the man again. "Can you at least help me get him in my bed?" she asks Quinn. Quinn's face becomes bright red with embarrassment as she looks at the mostly nude man, then back to Jo.

To her dismay, Quinn agrees to help out. She takes one side of the man, slinging his arm around her shoulders; she tries her best to not think about the lack of clothes that separate them. They struggle to lay down on to Jo's bed, as Jo is significantly smaller than Quinn and lacks the right strength to carry anything heavier than fifty pounds.

They flop his unconscious form on to the plush, silk sheets of Jo's bed, her roommate quickly turning him over so he can breathe properly. She lets out another sigh of frustration as she stares at how he's positioned in her bed. He lays horizontally right smack dab in the middle.

"How am I supposed to sleep?" Jo wonders out loud, as she attempts to crawl up on her pillows to figure out a sleeping position. "You could always sleep in my bed," Quinn offers, tossing her a shirt off her floor so she can cover her upper body.

"Why would I sleep in your bed?" Jo scoffs as she puts the shirt on. "We're in this mess because of you," she glares at her, watching Quinn squirm uneasily under the glare. Her roommate crosses her arms as she shifts uncomfortably on her heels.

"I know, I just wanted to offer. I think it'd be a good idea, you could actually get some sleep," Quinn suggests in an effort to persuade her irritated roommate. "It could be like a sleepover," she mumbles, eyes darting to the floor.

Jo attempts to find a comfortable spot to lay in her bed next to the man but finds nothing to her avail. She narrows her eyes at Quinn as she props herself up on her elbows. "You got us into this mess so I guess I'll sleep in your bed," she gives in.

"Like a sleepover," Quinn lets out an excited gasp only to have Jo burst her bubble, "Not like a sleepover. I'm only doing this because I have work in the morning."

"Look at you. Being responsible," Quinn teases as she shuts the bedroom door as they enter the narrow hallway. Jo shoots her another glare, Quinn apologizes immediately after poking fun.

Jo tended to be more sensitive during arguments, always getting offended over everything. Most of the time Quinn had to tiptoe around everything to not upset her even more. However, sometimes she couldn't help but poke fun at her while arguing. It was never worth it.

Quinn strips the jacket from her shoulders and hangs it up on the back of her bedroom door along with others. Her hand runs along the leather, feeling the comforting cool texture. She smiles as she thinks of who it belongs to.

She's still confused as to why he tossed it over her shoulders while leaving, she knows he said it was an incentive to come back, but she couldn't help but instigate that it was meant for something else. It did keep her warm as she went outside into the parking garage at midnight, she was thankful for it since the spring breeze always seemed to be chilled by that time.

Rudolph perks his head up from the bed as he sees her looking his way, Jo has already taken the right side of her bed with the blanket curled up around her chest. Her thumbs fiddle with the phone in her hands, ignoring Quinn's presence.

Quinn shuts the light off as soon as she dresses for bed and crawls under the covers with Jo. She turns her back away from Jo, trying to hide from the blue light that was coming from her phone. She pulls the covers close to her head, snuggling down to get warm as she thinks of a good apology.

She flips over to face Jo, who is scrolling through social media. Rudolph has found his way to sneak up in between them, creating a wall that pushes both of them away.

"Hey," Quinn says, finally finding her voice. Jo let's out a small sigh before turning her attention from her phone to look at her roommate, a slight frown forming.

"I'm sorry about what's been going on," she starts. "I shouldn't have talked to you like that. You're responsible enough to take care of yourself, and you take care of me as well. We've been doing this for years now and I haven't told you how much I appreciate it. Even if you do bring home random guys,"

"You did piss me off," Jo admits, turning on her side to face Quinn. "But I can't sit back and let you just apologize for trying to get me to go to work. That shouldn't be your responsibility, that's mine. I also shouldn't drink when I have work the next day,"

"Don't you have work in the morning?"

"I do. It's a work in progress but that's beside the point. I'm sorry too," Jo holds out her pinky finger from underneath the covers and places it over Rudolph. "Friends?"

Quinn lazily looks at the pinky finger for a moment before twining hers around it. "Friends," she affirms the small smile. Quinn can feel the sweet tug of sleep as she turns away from Jo. Her eyes are too heavy to stay open any longer.

She faintly hears Jo perk up in question. "Who's jacket is that?" She questions. Quinn let's out a humming noise as her answer, carefully avoiding the question as she falls asleep.

_**~ BOOK ONE: WINTER SOLDIER ~**_

**SHE BITES HER bottom lip as** she recalls the events of last night, trying her best to not erupt into a giggle fit while sitting quietly in the office. Her breath hitches as she remembers the sheer look of confusion on the man's face as he opened the door. She kicks herself for finding the situation funny, but she needed to find the humor in something or else she was going to spiral into a pit of boredom.

She runs her thumb along the knuckles of her right hand, looking at how bright pink they were. She's happy that the man didn't take it too seriously and was able to understand where she was coming from.

Quinn had a chance to talk to him after she returned from her jog with the group this morning. He had made himself at home on the couch watching Netflix with a bag of peas resting against his jaw. As soon as she saw him, she immediately apologized and asked how it was doing.

Thankfully, Jo was still there in the morning to patch him up. The best part was that he agreed to go on another date with Jo, causing Quinn to wonder if he hit his head too hard on the floor when she knocked him out. Either way, it was a win-win scenario, Jo got her date and she didn't have charges pressed on her.

Her phone begins ringing, startling her from her daydream. She jumps at the shrill sound. She picks it up questioningly after reading the caller I.D. for Kara's desk. "Agent Barton is here to pick up his commlink," she informs her with a rush in her voice. Quinn's mind draws a blank for a moment before recognizes that she had given the comm link to Dustin to try to fix.

He must've informed him that his comm link was ready to be picked up, yet why would he ask for her if Dustin was the one who contacted him? "I'll be there in a second," she replies, hanging up the phone.

Pushing back in her chair, she taps on Dustin's shoulder. He turns looking towards her with a confused look, he lifts his left hand that he was leaning on to reveal on headphone out of the pair he owned. She had disrupted him. "Can I see that comm link?" she questions, pointing to the bigger communicator that rested in the blue bin on his desk.

He shrugs his shoulders and tosses the bag to her. She catches it, her breath stops as she snatches it out of mid-air. She looks down to see that the communicator is completely intact and lets out a sigh of relief. She would've cried if she had broken it. She gives Dustin a glare as he chuckles to himself before going back to work.

"Idiot," she whispers as she makes her way up to the front desk where the agent waits for her. She casually strolls up to the front of the office, fiddling with the communicator in her hand.

She has become much more accustom to walking up to hand over the fixed tech, she didn't care if some eyes tended to linger on her.

The first thing Quinn notices is the short stature of the agent she spent days working on his comm link for. He looked gruff, with dark circles under his eyes from sleepless nights. His expression seemed bored like he didn't want to be there. A dry feeling lodged itself with her throat as she approached him with the plastic bag in hand.

"Agent Barton," she addresses the man. To her surprise, the agent gives her a tight smile, not forced but he smiles out of generosity. "Quinn Cruise," he says kindly, causing her to raise her brows in surprise. She's never met him before, it was odd that he'd know her name.

She assumed it was because Kara had called her up but then again he must've asked for her specifically because Dustin was the one who had emailed him to notify the piece was done. This was all very peculiar. It didn't settle right with her.

Her hand automatically clenches the bag even tighter but she pushes away her unsettled feeling and passes the communicator on. "I apologize for the delay, it took some time and effort to get it back in working order," Quinn states with an apologetic smile.

"Hey, I did give it to you in half. I expected it to take longer," he muses. He narrows his eyes as he continues to look at her, it feels as if he's scanning her for any signs of trouble. The same feeling on unsettling begins to wind back up in her stomach.

He sticks out his hand for her to shake, as she does so she notices her hands are a little clammy and she finds herself hoping he didn't mind. She locks eyes with him as she shakes. "Thank you," he says.

There's something odd in the palm of his hand as she continues grasping on to it. It feels light and flimsy but sharp at the same time. She keeps her calm as she shakes his hand. Her eyes are now narrowed at him in question. He knows he's put something in her hand, it was secretive or else he wouldn't have done it like this.

He places his other hand on the opposite side of her hand and gives her a small wink. "Take care now," he bids, removing his hands from hers. She grasps tightly on to the object, she hears it crinkle a little - it's paper. He's delivered her information about something - something she's immediately dying to know about.

"You do the same," she plays along with him before turning to walk back to her desk, note clenched tight to her palm as she balls up her fist. She peers around the sea of heads in the office carefully, not a single one dares to look up at her as she returns leaving her to feel a little relieved. If someone were to look at her now she knows her face would've given it away that she's hiding something.

The chair squeaks as she sits down in a rush, placing the note on the desk next to her keyboard. Her eyes scan around her, searching for anyone who had wandering eyes.

The ivory paper is folded neatly, her name across the center of it in neat blue ink. The handwriting seems familiar. Her fingers slide under the lip of the folded note flipping it open. Her eyes widen in surprise as she reads the small note:

"_Quinn_,

_I apologize in advance if you've already planned the next lesson. Unfortunately, I've been assigned to a mission and won't be able to make it to see you tonight. I'm unsure when I'll be back but I'll see you once I return._

_\- Steve_

_P.S. Keep my jacket safe until I'm back_."

Her heart clenches within her chest as she reads the note carefully once, twice, three times. That's how Agent Barton knew her name. Steve must've told him to drop it off to her when he picked up the comm link.

A feeling of disappointment wells up inside of her. She didn't realize she had been hoping to see Steve, perhaps it was because she needed to return his jacket. She did always get an uneasy feeling about holding on to someone's possessions for a while. Something could happen to them in her care and she'd be held responsible for it. She shook her head, she was being unreasonable. She pushed away the feeling and unlocked her computer to distract herself by recoding the update.

She didn't talk to anyone until lunch, not that she could anyways with Edith stalking around. But even at lunch, she found it difficult to keep her mind focused on a simple conversation with Dustin. Her eyes kept lingering out into the hangar in hopes of catching a glimpse of Steve before he went on his mission.

She wished she knew about his mission sooner or else she would've given him his jacket back this morning, now it's just sitting in the backseat of her car, roasting in the intense heat wave that spring was rolling in.

Dustin snapped his fingers in front of her face twice, bringing her attention back to him. "Are you even listening?" he questions his voice incredulous as he glares at her.

"Yeah, yeah..." she hums out, scooping up a square of lime Jello into her spoon. "What was I saying?"

"Something about traffic," she answers in a distracted voice. Dustin's lips press into a thin line as he gives her an unamused look, watching the cube of Jello fall from her spoon back onto the plate. "You've been trying to eat the same piece of Jello for five minutes," he points out as she places an empty spoon in her mouth.

She drags her eyes away from the hangar to give him an apologetic look. "Sorry, just tired," she lamely excuses herself. "I had trouble sleeping last night and then I had to get up and run,"

"You're still running?"

"Does it look like I stopped?" she questions, pressing down on her stomach. Dustin shakes his head and shrugs his shoulders as a response. "So you had trouble sleeping?" he repeats trying to get clarification. After she swallows the cube of Jello in her mouth she speaks up, "I accidentally punched my roommate's bedroom guest and knocked him out."

"What?" Dustin says with a smile, he obviously found the situation as funny as she did. "Yeah," she nodded her head. "I got home, went to go talk to my roommate and he opened the door without me knocking. J thought he was an intruder so I knocked him out,"

"Jesus," he hisses under his breath while poking at his salad. "Would hate to be on your bad side,"

"So I had to help the guy, who is naked by the way, so I dragged him over to my roommate's bed and accidentally tossed him into the middle of her bed. So she ended up bunking with me and the dog," she explains nonchalantly.

"All three of you were in the same bed?"

Quinn nods as Dustin laughs at the situation. "It's why I'm tired. I couldn't really sleep with Rudolph digging his paws into my back. Thank God the guy was okay with everything," she piles more Jello into her mouth before looking out into the hangar again. "Well that's good," she hears Dustin hum out.

As she peers out into the hangar she catches sight of a couple of agents heading towards a jet, shortly followed by Agent Barton and none other than Steve himself. Her eyes are glued on his figure as he hauls his shield over his shoulder and on to his back with ease while speaking to Agent Barton.

The jets engines turn on making a loud yet muffled sound throughout the canteen, alerting some people that someone is leaving. Her eyes lock with Agent Barton who surprisingly gives her a smile and a wave as he points to the comm link hidden behind his ear. She smiles and nods at him.

She watches as he taps Steve's arm and points up at her as he says something. Steve's eyes lock with hers, she gives a slight smile at him. He returns it and then gives her a wave. Quinn looks towards Dustin who is too involved with his phone to even acknowledge the agents leaving. She's thankful for that. It gives her the opportunity to give Steve a small wave back before she watches him head up the ramp of the jet.

Her heart clenches as she watches the ramp close up, encasing him from view. She has a feeling that it would be the last time she saw him for a while.


	10. CHAPTER X

**CHAPTER TEN**

**( **THE SET UP **)**

**THE AIR WAS muggy in the** spring morning at the Washington Monument, although the sun seemed to be failing to come out. The dark purple clouds from the dawn seemed to be blocking most of the morning rays. The ground is damp from a previous thunderstorm from the night before, causing the sneakers that anyone wore to squeak with each step.

Today seemed to be the first time in a while that Quinn actually struggled with keeping to the front of the group as they jogged through the park. It must've been the humidity in the air that made her feel like she was choking with each breath, however, she still continued to jog. She looked back to see Jo red in the face once again, taking up the rear of the group. Instead of racing to keep up with Maddox at the front of the group, she lagged behind, running the same pace as Jo as she started to huff and puff.

It had been almost a week since she had accidentally punched her date - Josh - in the face; usually the guy she was seeing would have given up on her now but instead, Josh has been hanging around all week. She, of course, had to tell him the obvious lie, about she's an I.T. for a law firm but she can't tell him whereas she'd be breaching her contract. Which was true, she would be - even though she works for S.H.I.E.L.D. instead.

As they came to their scheduled break her eyes scanned the area around the monument as Jo places her hands on her knees catching her breath. Quinn was looking for someone - Steve. She hadn't seen him since the day he left at the hangar, she hadn't seen Agent Barton around as well, she began to start worrying that something had gone wrong on their mission. She didn't know exactly what it was but he left abruptly, fast, and with Agent Barton - another member of the Avengers, she could only assume it was something dangerous.

Her heart begins to sink as she sees no sign of her friend, sitting down in the damp grass, not caring if her rear was getting damp from the leftover due on the grass. Jo joins her, sitting relatively close, still gasping for air as she waves a hand in front of herself, trying to cool down. "It's dreadful out," she gasps as she clenches her chest to breathe. The muggy air was seeming to suffocate nearly everyone today.

Quinn hums in response. "I have to keep looking good for Josh, I really think I have a connection with him," she states, her voice sounding tender. Quinn plays with her shoelaces as she listens to Jo talk about Josh. "You really think so?" she questions her friend. "Even after I knocked him out-"

"He forgave you for that," Jo points out nudging her shoulder, causing Quinn to roll her eyes. She remembers, she just doesn't know why. Jo wistfully looks out over the reflective pool a small smile playing on her lips as she stares out at the water.

She was smitten over her new boy-toy. This concerned Quinn, she wasn't ready to see Jo's heart get broken once again. She had seen it many time before. She's cautious about the newcomer. If Jo had her heart broken once again, she may break for good. That couldn't happen. She couldn't lose her like that.

"You shouldn't worry too much," a voice cautions her from behind. Her heart thumps at the suddenness of someone's presence beside her. She half expecting to see Steve sitting next to her since he always found a way to surprise her, but instead she sees Maddox as he runs his fingers through his copper hair. Never has anyone made her feel flustered yet irritated at the same time, but Maddox found a way to push all the right buttons at the same time.

He smirks as he offers a water bottle to her. She grasps it, her eyes not leaving his as he passes a bottle to Jo. "Does it look like I'm worrying?" Quinn questions the instructor, taking a sip of water. Maddox shrugs his shoulders. "You always have this scrunched up face, and you're looking out at nothing-"

"My eyes are squinting because of the light hitting the water,"

"The sun's barely out. So your argument is invalid. Just like whatever excuse you're going to use to explain why you're running was sub-par today,"

Quinn whips her head to glare at the instructor, the bottom half of her golden ponytail just barely grazing his face. "Whoa," Jo gasps, raising up from the grass. "That was uncalled for,"

Quinn nods her head in agreement, her jaw clenching as she continued to glare at the smug instructor who was smirking at the two girls. A cloud seems to make the park darker, causing her to look up to end the staring contest between them. It looked like it was about to rain soon. She shook her head and returned her attention back to her friend.

"I wonder where Cap is at today," she heard Jo mumble under her breath. Quinn's shoulders tense up at the mention of Steve and his absence. She hadn't forgotten about him being gone, she grew even more worried with each passing second. "Well, looks like I'm the fastest man in D.C.," Maddox replies with a curt smile of satisfaction.

It irked her to her core that they could just take his absence lightly, yet at the same time they didn't personally know Steve nor did they know she knew Steve and that he was on a mission. "Wouldn't hold your breath to it. He'll be here eventually," Jo responds to Maddox before she lightly taps her on the shoulder at the same time.

"Speaking of Captain America. Josh and I were going to go to the natural history museum," she informs her friend who still wore a worried expression on her face. Quinn nods in acknowledgment and clears her throat. "Well, that's nice. So you're going to the Captain America exhibit then?" Quinn asks, earning a happy nod from Jo.

"We were going to go on Saturday. I know that's your day off, do you want to go too?" The question seems to take Quinn back as Jo says it. She turns to give her a questioning look, her brows raised, and her eyes confused. "You want me to go on your date with you?" Quinn repeats, almost sounding insulted at the fact that they feel as if they need to include her on this. She wasn't that lonely. Jo nods her head as she takes a drink of water. "I think it'd be fun-"

"I'd be a third wheel," she contests, shaking her head. She hated being drug into things that made her feel uncomfortable. Being on dates with Jo was one of them. She had done it before, she was ignored the whole time even after Jo insisted that she would pay attention to her the whole time. It was the last time she even considered doing another one.

"I could go," Maddox speaks up, catching both of their attention: Jo's being curious yet excited while Quinn's was more serious and agitated. "If you'll let me,"

"Of course you're welcome to," Jo accepts while at the same time Quinn says, "No thanks,"

Their answers confuse each other and they ended up looking towards one another bewildered. "What do you mean yes?" Quinn asks. She couldn't just make dates for her.

"What do you mean no?" Jo retorts, crossing her arms, giving Quinn the same insulting look.

Her lips pressed into a firm frown as she glares at Jo and then turns to look at the dewy grass between her legs. "I think it'd be good for you," Jo tries to convince, gripping her wrist in comfort. She rolls her eyes before she glances over to Maddox who is sitting awkwardly with a nervous expression on his face. He had been rejected yet accepted at the same time. This would be confusing yet awkward to her as well if she was in his place.

She feels a twinge of guilt as she peers into his eyes, she didn't want anyone to feel unwelcome or uncomfortable around her or by her. She groans to herself as she returns her gaze to Jo - who in turn looks at her pleadingly. Quinn then turned towards Maddox, who gave her a shamefully bashful look, it made him look like an adorable lost puppy. She felt the guilt course through her veins as she looked at him.

They did have a nice time alone the other weekend as they drank coffee, he wasn't as cocky as he appeared to be. Plus she wouldn't have to go on the date with Jo and Josh alone - although she could easily say no to her friend, it wouldn't be easy to especially if Jo decided to guilt trip her into going.

Maddox gazed into her eyes with the same pleading look Jo had given her. She felt herself become flustered as her cheeks turned a shade of pink. "Fine," she hisses out in defeat, gazing out again at the reflective pool. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Maddox's fist pump the air in excitement, she didn't know he had wanted to go so badly.

"It's not a date for us," Quinn clarifies as she looked towards him as he stuck out his hand behind her back. There was an audible smack that caught her off guard, she peered over to see Jo reeling her hand back from the high five she had given him. She had turned into Maddox's wing-man. Maddox flashes her a blindingly beautiful yet cocky grin, "Of course it isn't. But I'm still bringing you flowers."

"Absolutely not," she protests.

"Carnations are her favorites. I get them for her every year for her birthday," Jo supplies Maddox with information, leaving Quinn sputtering in protest and asking what's wrong with her. She watches helplessly as Maddox takes out his phone and starts typing in the information that Jo has provided him.

A couple of women from the group call over for Maddox, a sign that Quinn rejoices in, that he has to leave immediately. He tells them to give him a minute as he asks for the date and the time that she and Josh planned on going. "We can carpool together if you just wanted to stop by our place," Jo offers before giving out their home address. Something that annoys her roommate, and causes her to catch a glare from Quinn before Maddox speaks up. "I have to see what these ladies want but, I'll catch you guys on Saturday," he speaks up.

Quinn opens her mouth to protest any gifts he planned on getting her but he cuts her off before she gets a chance. "'No flowers', I hear you," he quotes as he begins to hoist himself to his feet. "You really need to relax, Cruise," Maddox offers her a hand to help her up, which she takes. She hums out before stopping herself from making a rude comment back to him. Instead, she flashes him a forced smile.

"See you Saturday," she bids him in farewell, watching him bite his bottom lip as he closes the distance between them. "See you Saturday," he repeats, before planting a peck on her cheek. Her face immediately begins to heat up at the action, she watches a smirk appear on his face as he looks over her bright red face.

She's unsure if it's from the embarrassment or from the flattery. He chuckles before her jogs off to see what the women from before wanted from him, leaving Quinn with a fluttering feeling within her chest as she absentmindedly presses her hand where he pecked her. "Damn, I'm good," Jo says with a feeling of accomplishment, as she clasps on to Quinn's shoulder. For the first time in a long time, Quinn feels as twitterpated as Jo.


	11. CHAPTER XI

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

**(** BLACKBIRD **)**

** A YAWN ESCAPES from Quinn's lips** as she squints through hued glasses that rest on her nose at the glowing computer screen on her desk. The coding to the new update hadn't been hacked yet, but Edith had explained to them earlier in the day that people were constantly trying to crack it. No one asked why people wanted to get into their database; everyone had different reasons. Some people wanted to know the truth, wanted to get it out into the open and expose their deepest secrets - secrets that even she didn't know about.

Others were just bored and wanted to accomplish something, much like when news got around that Tony Stark had hacked into the pentagons system, he didn't do anything all he did was get a slap on the wrist. He just wanted to accomplish it and say that he actually did it. If only she had the guts to do something like that.

She'd know where Steve was with Agent Barton, and she'd know if there had been casualties on the mission and if they were part of the casualty list. Steve and Agent Barton have been gone for nearly a week and a half, she wasn't provided with information on how the mission was going - she wasn't an agent, she didn't have access to that.

She had become numb to the situation, it wasn't as if she had known Steve for very long. But he was right about them becoming fast friends. She would often go back and recount the night that she had taught him about the moon landing, how she had been so closed off to him. She felt guilty for snapping at him for asking her personal business but at the same time, she couldn't risk letting people know about it.

Her mother was her weakness and if anything happened to her because she blabbed something to the wrong person she'd feel accountable for it. She already felt guilty about what had happened to her brother, and her father. She sniffled at she continued to type in the pattern of the code, she hadn't realized she had begun tearing up as she thought of them. She couldn't help it, she had missed them so much.

Her hands instinctively raised her glasses up and placed them on her head as she rubbed her eyes out of exhaustion and to wipe away what would eventually be tears. Even if no one was there she couldn't break down at her work, she needed to get the code done or at least mostly completed. She was just over halfway done with it.

Her head shakes as she tries to snap out of her sleep deprived state. She always felt sorrow when she was tired. Her fingers ran along the edges of the leather jacket that Steve had given to her as 'incentive to return', pulling it tighter amongst her body as she feels a chill run through her.

She rolls her eyes as she remembers him stating that he'd be back for the jacket, she had hoped it would've been sooner - if not at all. At least she had a memento of him in case they were informed that the mission had been a failure. She couldn't think about that now, she had to go home eventually. It was twenty-three hundred and she had been up at five.

Overtime was starting to take its toll on her. She noticed that she was becoming more irritable than usual, instead of her naturally competitive self she found herself lagging behind the group as they jogged. Of course Maddox had asked if everything was all right to which she had defensively lied about and said everything was just peachy. He hung close to her at every stop on their group jog, asking her personal information that she wasn't ready to release to him. He was trying to prepare himself for their group date in two days.

She could see where he was coming from, but she didn't want to think of it as a date - she was purely going out of respect for Jo, who thinks she may have found the one. She was really going to be Jo's sense of comfort, if she needed it. She has never seen Jo more flustered about a guy in her time of being around her, each day she had either seen Jo going over to his apartment or Josh had been over to their loft.

Quinn found Josh admirable since he didn't do anything about her punching him in the face on first meeting, in fact it's become a running joke. Even Rudolph liked the man, usually he stood away from the guys Jo would bring into the house, Josh was different. Quinn hoped everything would turn out okay for the couple, if that's what they called themselves. Jo had mentioned to her that they hadn't labelled it yet.

The soft strumming of guitar flew into her ears as the song on her phone changed, making her guilt ridden feeling return. At her state of exhaustion mood swings were more common.

_"Blackbird singing in the dead of night,_

_Take these broken wings and learn to fly"_

The song struck a nerve in her that made tears start to well up in her eyes, the song used to be something her brother would play her as a child. She had forgotten that she had put it on her phone. She remembered sitting at the edge of the twin bed that resided in his room, watching him strum the instrument as he tried to sing along - she would laugh when he let out a curse when he messed up while learning to play the song. Something she hadn't even to the day told her mother about.

She smiled as she remembered him playing the song, effortlessly for her numerous times after that. It had always put her in a good mood after she had a hard day that he knew about. He'd come into her room and play her it, even if she was crying. She felt herself mumbling the words out softly as she continued to type away the code.

_"Blackbird singing in the dead of night,_

_Take these sunken eyes and learn to see"_

She couldn't help but sniffle at the song, being sure not to let any tears out as she remembered the fond memories the song held. She smiled to herself as she continued to sing along with the song.

_"All your life,_

_You were only waiting for this moment to be free"_

There was a sudden knock at the door that had her heart thumping wildly in her chest as she was caught off guard by the sound. She looks down at the clock on her desk to check the time: twenty-three; twenty-eight. It was pretty late, she thought about the possibility that it could be the janitor doing nightly rounds to see if anyone was in the office. She didn't pick up a stapler this time to protect herself like she had the first night she was caught off guard, she didn't need to fear anyone in the building, she had learned that.

She shrugs off the jacket that had been lent to her and places it on the back of her chair, as she stands up she rubs her eyes clear of any signs of tears that the song brought to her, placing her blue-light glasses on her head once again. She can hear the song still faintly playing as she pads away towards the door.

_"Blackbird fly, blackbird fly,_

_Into the light of the dark black night"_

Her hand doesn't tremble as she grabs onto the handle of the door like the night she was caught off guard. It could have been the pure exhaustion she was feeling that made her numb and oblivious to the situation.

As she opens the door her eyes widen with shock, as the breath is knocked out from her lungs, making it hard to breathe. Her eyes instantly start to well up with tears as she gazes into Steve's eyes. He's still in his suit as he stands in the doorway, a small cut is on his forehead but other than that it looks like he has cleaned up.

"Sorry I'm late," he apologizes with a smile. Before he can even register what happens, he's being pulled into the office by Quinn. He looks down at her puzzled as she continues to take in deep breaths, trying her best not to let any tears drip down her face, which is completely red. Her arms wrap around his torso in a tight embrace as she buries her head in his chest. He's taken back by the action, his brows raise in surprise as he stares down at the girl holding on to him, his arms sticking out to the his sides.

"You could've texted me," she scolds him, her voice muffled from the suit. It takes him a moment to realize that she's been worried about him for the whole length of his mission. He smiles warmly as he returns her embrace. It's nice. Quinn can still hear the music from her desk playing.

_"Blackbird singing in the dead of night,_

_Take these broken wings and learn to fly,_

_All your life,_

_You were only waiting for this moment to arise"_

Quinn breaks the embrace as the song ends, looking up at Steve. "What time did you get back?" she questions as she leads him towards her desk. "Just a couple hours ago, head to debrief with Fury, cleaned up, and I figured you'd still be here," he answers as they approach her desk. "Any chance you can tell me what it's about," she wonders playfully. "Not a chance," he replies with a smile.

He notices that his jacket is hanging from her chair, clearly it served of use to her. He points to it with a small smile, as she turns to face him again. Her brows raise as she realizes what he's looking at and she grabs it and tosses it to him. "Sorry," she apologizes as she sits down in her chair. "It gets cold in the office at night, so I grabbed it from my car as soon as everyone left. Hope you don't mind that I used it," Steve lets out a small chuckle. "It's partly why I left it behind,"

"You also left it behind because you said it would give you incentive to come back," Quinn reminds him as she puts her glasses back on and turns to face her computer screen. "And here I am," Steve remarks, pulling out a chair and sliding it next to her. She smiles yet tries her best to hide it form him. "And here you are," she repeats gazing at him before turning back to coding. As she begins typing, she can feel Steve's eyes resting on her as if he's waiting for something.

She yawns as she gazes at the clock once again. It's getting late. She locks her computer as she turns to face him, his eyes instantly locking on hers. "I'm sorry, I don't have a lesson planned out for today that I can do in less than twenty minutes. You'll have to come back another time for that," she apologizes as she tries her best to stifle back another yawn. "I didn't just come here for the lesson, I didn't expect one. I just wanted to see you," he responds to her honestly, which makes her cheeks turn a tint of pink as she listens.

"You didn't want your jacket back?" she asks with a smirk. He shrugs his shoulders as he thinks about it. "And I wanted my jacket back," he adds making her chuckle. "Well, I'm getting ready to leave. I've been here more than enough and I'm tired,"

"You look tired," he notes, watching her roll her eyes. "Thanks," she replies sarcastically. She turns off her computer and picks up her belonging. She scans his features one last time to make sure everything about him is correct, he's even got his jacket in his hand before she turns off her desk lamp. It takes Steve by surprise and the office in almost complete darkness aside from the dim lights that came from the hallway.

They make their way up to the front door where Quinn takes out a set of keys and sticks it in the lock. "If you come back tomorrow I'll have something planned for you," she promises him, as she turns the lock, making sure she locked up correctly. "Sounds like a deal," he states, walking beside her in the empty hallway towards the elevator.

They stand in a comfortable silence as they wait for the elevator to come down to grab them. Quinn starts swaying from side to side to keep herself busy as Steve watches her with a smirk, leather jacket hanging off of his shoulder.

The elevator rings as the doors open to reveal no one inside, something of a relief to Quinn. Quinn steps inside, while Steve hovers from outside, leaning in and hitting the button that'll take her to the main lobby. She gives him a questionable look to which he responds to, "I have to change still,"

"You don't get to take the suit home?" she questions, her voice incredulous.

"Wish I could," he says as he shakes his head.

"That sucks," she replies with a smile. She gazes at him momentarily, scanning his eyes for any sign of distress - the same way she would with Jo but she doesn't find any. Just comfort. She relaxes against the back side of the elevator, clutching on to her purse.

"It's good to have you back, Rogers," she hums out, smiling at him. He returns her smile, she notes that it seems just a tad more smitten than usual. Her heart seems to beat faster as she memorizes the smile. He let's go of the elevator doors, letting them slowly close in front of him. "It's good to be back," he smiles at her just as the elevator doors slide shut.


	12. CHAPTER XII

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

**( **QUINN AND THE HORRIBLE DATE **)**

**THE PIN THAT Jo was using** to clip in a stray strand of blonde hair on Quinn's head poked and prodded it's way across her scalp, a whimper of pain leaving Quinn's lips with a hushing sound coming from Jo in response. "Honestly, you should be thanking me," Jo informs her, as she sprays hair spray onto Quinn's head. "I have your hair looking fab - beautiful if you will. If I wasn't around, you would've gone on your date in a ponytail or with your hair down."

"What's wrong with that?" Quinn questions defensively. Wearing her hair down or in a ponytail were her main choices of doing her hair, she didn't have time to dabble in making herself look good like Jo did. "Nothing," Jo replies, eyeing her hairline from the front. "Just a little dull," she shrugs as she begins toying with the front part of her hair.

Quinn frowns as Jo continues to tinker with her hair. She didn't have to go on this date, but she was doing Jo a solid and here she was insulting her. She watches Jo as she sticks her tongue out of the side of her mouth in concentration like a child. "There!" Jo announces while clapping her hands and standing upright. "I am a beauty genius. I should just become a stylist and leave my barista days behind," she flatters herself, earning a groan from Quinn as she stands up from her bed to look in the floor length mirror.

To her surprise, Jo hasn't sabotaged her looks at all. Her hair is in a braided up-do and her bangs a softly swept off to the side to frame her face. The makeup she had done herself complimented her hair and outfit pretty well for a day time date. She nods her head, as she scopes herself out in the mirror. "Not bad, Kapplin," Quinn compliments with a smile as Jo stands behind her with a beaming smile.

The front door rings which surprise both of them, Rudolph is up and barking from the living room. She can hear Josh telling Rudolph to stop barking before he calls out to Jo. "That's your man," Jo announces with a wink. Something about the phrase made Quinn start to feel anxious about the whole date, even though she technically didn't classify it as a date. "I'll be right back," Jo informs her, earning an absentminded nod from Quinn. "You're my proudest work," Jo says as she turns to exit the room.

The light in the room seems to illuminate her stature as she looks at herself nervously in the mirror. There's an underlying pit of anxiety and nervousness working its way throughout her body. She bites down on her lip and curses herself for feeling this way. She's been like this since she was a child. How could she not be when she was delivered the news about her brother?

She hears muffles of voices coming from the living room now, Rudolph going mad with whining. No doubt Maddox had finally entered the loft. She takes a deep breath as she looks at herself in the mirror once again. She reminds herself that she can do this, it's not even a date. She chants this mantra in her head as she turns to exit out into the living area.

That's when she sees him and becomes flustered with embarrassment. He hasn't brought her any flowers or chocolates like he's been saying he's going to, he's brought her a single pink balloon. His smile is wide as he sets his gaze upon her, she can clearly see the infatuation in her eyes along with the blush that was creeping up on his cheeks.

"Hey," he hums out in greeting. "Hey," she greets back, swaying from side to side out of sheer awkwardness. She mentally slaps herself for being this awkward but she couldn't help it, she did feel awkward. He pries his gaze away from her as he fumbles with the balloon in his grasp, making her chuckle. "I didn't get you flowers but I got you this," he states as he hands her the pink string attached to the balloon.

She takes it and looks at the gift in amusement. "Thanks," she says, her voice filled with uncertainty as she lets the balloon fly out of her hand to reach the ceiling. "I don't think that's allowed in museum's but, thank you for the gift." she tries to validate her actions, cursing her anxiety for creeping through.

She looks around him towards Jo, as she gives her a pleading look. Jo notices and grabs on to Josh's large hand and pulls him over to them. "You ready for the museum?" Jo's perky voice asks them. "Yes!" Quinn quickly agrees in a loud voice, taking everyone by surprise. Her eyes widen as she realizes what she's done - Jo doing the same. She clears her throat appropriately before saying, "Yes, we'd love to go."

Jo grabs ahold of Josh's hand once again and leads the way out of the door; Josh patting Rudolph on the head and telling him to be good. Maddox sticks out his hand for Quinn to take. Quinn stares at it momentarily dumbfounded. _This is not a date_, she has to remind herself.

Instead of taking his hand she hooks her arm around his and places her other hand on her hip. "Let's ride partner," she says in a southern accent gaining a confused look from Maddox. She wants to die at this point from how awkward she's being. "Uh..." Maddox stammers out. "Sure, let's go '_partner'_," he replies as he escorts them out of the door.

Quinn looks to Jo once again out of embarrassment as she holds the door open for them. "What are you doing?" Jo mouths as they pass through the door going unnoticed by Maddox. "I don't know. Help me!" Quinn mouths back as she passes by once again going unnoticed by Maddox. They all stand outside of the elevator door, as Jo locks the door. She gives out a sigh of frustration as she passes by Quinn. She was going to ruin this date.

_**~ BOOK ONE: WINTER SOLDIER ~**_

** "WELCOME TO THE Smithsonian Museum," **the voice over the intercom echoed throughout the building. The crowds seemed to hum amongst themselves as they gazed up at the airplanes and satellites hanging for display from the ceiling. Quinn clung on to the side of the escalator tightly as they descended downwards towards the exhibit that displayed Steve. As foreseen, Jo had completely ignored her attempts to ask for help to spend time with Josh, leaving Quinn barely grasping on to a solid conversation with Maddox.

She looked at the scenery in the museum as they descended from the upper floor to the bottom, two column like flags stood on either side of the elevator donning Steve's face within his uniformed helmet, eyes deadpan looking into the distance - not looking like the ones she's grown accustomed to.

"So do you like Captain America?" Maddox asks her, trying his best to start a conversation. Quinn continues to gaze at the banners with Steve's face on them before she answered. "Yeah, I think he's great," she answers honestly as they step off of the escalator. She loses her balance for a moment but Maddox grabs on to her arm to help steady her. She smiles sheepishly as she thanks him. "I wonder if he's nice in person. I've thought about stopping him when we see him running. Never gained the courage to since he looks like he wants to be left alone," Maddox admits as they make their way over to the exhibit, displaying their tickets for the special displays.

Jo and Josh have abandoned them to have their own venture through the exhibit, Jo clinging on to Josh's hand like life support. Quinn shrugs her shoulder as they make their way into the exhibit. "Never met him," she lies. "But I figure he'd be nice," she adds as a guard lets them know to turn off their electronics and that there can be no photos or videos taken within the exhibit. Maddox hooks his arms around hers as they begin their way through the displays. Her heart seems to pitter in her chest at the action, and she's thankful that the area seems to be dim.

The first thing they come across is a black wall with an American flag waving on a television screen; the words "Welcome Back, Cap." in bold white letters across the top of it - a quote from the president once they found out Steve Rogers was alive. Quinn has a small smile on her face as she reads the writing underneath, it's funny to see the words 'scrawny' and 'frail' used to describe Steve. It's something she never pictured him as.

"A symbol to the nation, a hero to the world. The story of Captain America is one of honor, bravery, and sacrifice." A voice narrates from overhead, catching her off guard and making her flinch. Maddox chuckles as he squeezes her arm tighter to reassure her that she was fine. She gives him a frail smile as they continue to move through. Another wall displays a mural of Steve with his suit on, saluting. The saturation of the picture makes him look pinker than what he actually was.

As they enter the next room there's a sizable crowd gathering in the room. Her eyes scan for Jo and Josh but she can't see them over the sea of heads. Maddox shrugs his shoulders as he leans over to see where they're at as well, not able to find them. A kid runs in circles around them, causing Quinn to step closer to Maddox. She smiles sheepishly again once the kid leaves and apologizes for invading his space. She drops his arm as she tries to see what everyone is crowding over.

"Denied from enlistment due to poor health Steven Rogers was chosen for a program unique, in the annals of American warfare. One that would transform him into the worlds first super soldier," The voice narrates as she makes her way slowly up to the front of the display. On the side of the wall, there's a picture of what looks to be Steve, he's smaller and skinnier but his eyes still held the same look that he usually gives her. They labeled the photo as 'Pre-Serum Steve' with his height and weight underneath the photo.

She lets out a low whistle as she checks it out. "Jesus, I weigh more than that," she gawks out quickly shutting her mouth as she mentally slaps herself. She didn't have to say that out loud. It makes Maddox laugh. "At least you don't weigh as much as he does after. Or you do and you don't look it," Maddox tries to lighten the mood with a joke as her eyes glaze over the 'post-serum Steve'; the Steve she knows and the one that looks the most familiar which tends to be shirtless in the photo they used.

She smiles between the two photos. There's a small display that kids are clamoring to get to, to measure themselves against 'pre-serum' and 'post-serum' Steve. Maddox grasps on to her hand as they move through the crowd to get to the next area. She immediately drops his hand as soon as the exit the crowd.

She peers over at the motorcycle that used to belong to him back in the day, along with a projection of an old movie that Steve appeared to star in. She bit down on her lip as she watched the terrible silent acting. She couldn't wait to use this as ammo the next time she saw him. "Hey," Maddox calls over to her as he stands in front of a display. Her brows raise in surprise as she looks at the mural of Steve and five other men, each with their outfits on display in front of the mural.

"Battle-tested, Captain America and his howling commandos quickly earned their stripes. Their mission, taking down Hydra - the nazi rogue science division." The voice informs them as she gazes at the outfits. "Do you think those are the exact outfits they wore?" Maddox questions as he leans over to her. She shrugs in response. "Maybe. At least St- Captain America's. They must've gotten it when they got him out of the ice. I don't know how it stayed intact after it was underwater. You'd think it would have water-damage or something," she rambles while looking at Steve's suit.

Her phone vibrates in her pocket, alarming her. She pats Maddox's arm and gives him a reassuring smile as she wanders off, trying to find a good place to check her phone. It was probably Jo asking her where she was. As she moved away from the crowds of people that were starting to gather around the outfits Quinn plucked the phone out of her pocket.

Her brows raise in surprise as she sees Steve's name pop up on the screen. She wastes no time in opening the text up, deep down she's actually proud of him for actually texting her instead of using some weird note passing maneuver. "_Won't be able to make it to a lesson this week. Will be gone with Norris for a day or two on a mission. Can't tell. -Steve_" the text reads. She rolls her eyes as she reads it, making a snorting sound as she notes that he actually put his name at the end as if he wouldn't know it's from him. "_You got it, Cap,_" she responds quickly, placing her phone back into her pocket as she looks up at the display she's found herself at.

It's a memorial for someone, the picture of him and inscription is etched in glass as a white light illuminates the display. "Best friends since childhood, Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers were inseparable on both the schoolyard and battlefield. Barnes is the only howling commando to give his life in service of this country." the voice says from overhead.

Quinn reads the inscriptions of their friendship and even looks down at a small monitor that displays black and white media footage of Steve and Bucky messing around during the time of the howling commandos. "Would you die for me?" Jo questions, slinging her arm around her shoulder, surprising Quinn as she drags her head down almost a foot. Jo and Josh have finally managed to come back for them after their abandonment.

"I am dying," Quinn notes pulling Jo away from Maddox and Josh. "This date is going horribly and you're not helping me," she scolds her, earning a sly smile from her roommate. "Are you kidding me? Quinn looks at how he looks at you," she tells her, grabbing her cheeks and forcing her to look over her shoulder. Maddox simply waves awkwardly with a small smile. "Any guy that I've been on dates with would've left ages ago, yet he's still here," she encourages Quinn, sweeping a strand of her hair back into her pinned up bangs.

"He likes you, Quinn. Give him a chance," Jo steps over towards Josh and Maddox, grabbing hold of Josh's hand and leading him away, giving Quinn a chance to actually speak with Maddox. She cautiously steps over to him, eyes looking down at her feet before looking up at him as he meets her halfway.

"I want to apologize about this whole thing," she speaks up. "I haven't been on a date in such a long time and it's kind of nerve-wracking," she admits with a nervous laugh. "It's okay to be nervous," Maddox informs her smiling, tilting her chin to look up at him. "It's the first date, and it's not over yet," he purrs. She smiles, as she gains enough confidence to intertwine her fingers with his.

As they make their round through the museum, their date comes to a halt as Jo's stomach begins to rumble, forcing everyone to get food at the small museum cafe. Jo hums excitedly as she digs into her noodles. Quinn ignores her friends' weird antics as she continues to hold on to Maddox's hand. Whatever she was feeling right - infatuated, smitten - she wanted to feel it all the time.

"So how did you guys like the exhibit?" Josh questions the pair across from him. Quinn shrugs her shoulders. "I liked it, I learned a lot," she answers. She peers curiously over to Maddox to see how he responds. "It was okay," he says with a low tone as he chews his sandwich. "Captain America isn't really my cup of tea. Not a big history buff. Not a big into the fact that he had to be tested in order to get his status. I think they made a mistake, they should've gotten someone who was already fit and see what they turned out to be. Probably like some big biff monster,"

"They chose St-," Quinn caught herself once again. "Captain America because he had a good heart. He can make rational decisions. Not like a jock would be able to do different. I just think he's intelligent enough and rash enough to have what was gifted to him,"

"Yeah but think of the possibilities if they gave that serum to a football player. Muscle upon muscle,"

"Do you think it's brawn that wins wars? It's brains, it's emotions,"

"It's brawn. We won the war from pure gun power. Look at the atomic bomb. We built it, used it, and now most of the world is scared of us,"

"And you're okay with that?" she argues, her voice incredulous. She watches as he nods his head with a large bite of his sandwich in his mouth. She rips her hand away from his as she packs up her lunch tray. She couldn't eat anymore, she felt sick to her stomach. "Quinn," Jo warns in a low voice. Quinn glares up at Jo, who is giving her one back. She knows what that look means. 'Don't make a scene'. She shakes her head and attempts to return to her normal self, agreeing with Maddox even though it killed her inside. She knew this date would go horribly wrong.


	13. CHAPTER XIII

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN**

**( **BLAST FROM THE PAST** )**

**QUINN'S EYES BURN as they strain** to watch the video on the small screen of her phone. Usually, she'd watch videos on her computer but, S.H.I.E.L.D. isn't too fond of opening up web browsers and letting in potential hackers.

She peers out of the corner of her eye at Steve who is yawning already. The video wasn't the best, and it wasn't the shortest or the greatest topic. She watches as he scribbles stuff down in his tiny black notebook, an item that he seemed to be overly fond of.

He notices her looking over at him and he gives her a small smile before returning his attention back to the video. She can't help but get riles up as she thinks of Maddox's words from their time that they spent at the Smithsonian.

Steve had a good heart, he was rational, he cared about others, she couldn't imagine letting a 'football player' - as Maddox had put it - come in here every night to learn about things that happened in the past. Nor would she think a football player like super soldier would even want to, especially since they wouldn't have the patience to do so.

"Learning anything?" she questions Steve as she returns to working on the code she was working on. He hums in response, looking down at his notes. "Just about Watergate. It's interesting," he answers, trying his best not to sound too bored but fails.

She leans back and presses pause on the video, causing him to let out a soft sigh of relief. She turns towards him to look directly into his eyes, her lips pressed into a thin line as she tries to phrase what's on her mind. "I went to the Smithsonian this weekend with my roommate and her boyfriend and another guy," she states, leaning on her elbow.

His brows raise at her statement, he nods in acknowledgment not knowing where this is leading. "I went through your exhibit," A chuckle ripples out of him. "Oh yeah?" he questions, watching her nod her head. "I learned a lot about you. Have you gone?"

"Not yet," he informs her. "Haven't had the chance to,"

"It's nice," she replies, awkwardly shifting her eyes to the floor. She doesn't know how to approach the subject that she wants to bring up, she doesn't know if she even should. "Is everything all right?" he asks her, concern flashing across his face.

Quinn shakes her head to snap out of it, returning his gaze with a smile. "Yeah I just, I learned so much about you, I feel like I know you better. I know it's public information but I feel like I need to tell you about myself. To deepen this student-teacher friendship we have to like friend friends," she admits, biting her lip as she listens to him chuckle again.

"_Friend_ friends?" he repeats for clarification. "Quinn, all that information is public, if you wanted to know you could've asked or you could've gone to the Smithsonian. You just had to ask,"

"I didn't feel like prying. I figured you tell your story all the time that you'd get sick of it. I didn't want to push you away with my questions," she admits. He shrugs his shoulders. "I'm an open book,"

"So tell me about your last mission," she tests him. "I'm not _that_ open, I have obligations," he smiles at her trick.

Quinn snaps her fingers, as she sits back in her seat, swiveling around in her chair before looking back at him. She jokes saying she thought she had him.

"In all seriousness, I feel like I know a lot about you now and you don't know anything about me," she announces, pressing her hands to her chest to emphasize what she was saying.

He smiles at her but protests. "You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to. You have a choice,"

"I appreciate that but, I feel like I have to tell you at least something. It'll help me feel better," she inclines, placing her hand on his. His lips press into a thin line as he looks up at her. He holds the gaze for a moment, looking at her endearingly, as he sees that it's bugging her. There's pain behind her eyes that he's never really noticed before.

He lets out a sigh before he nods his head in agreement. Quinn takes in a deep breath as she tries to find the right words for her story. She runs a hand across her face as she lets out a sigh. She gazes into his eyes again, they display concern as she waits to tell him. "I had a brother,"

"_Had_?"

"Yes, I had a brother," she says with a small grin. "His name was Max. He was seven years older than me and he was excited to have me around unlike most sibling relationships. We were best friends up until he grew into a teenager. You know how moody they can be. He started to view me as a nuisance but he was always there for me when I had bad days,"

"He used to play guitar whenever I was in a bad mood, and tell me that I was valid. He'd threaten to beat anyone up who bullied me. We were army brats, our dad was in the military so we kept moving from place to place. When I was eight I remember going camping in West Virginia with my family and I actually had to rushed to the hospital because Max and I were heading to a lake and to get to the lake you had to cross this log and there was a rock at the other end and I got my foot stuck between it and Max has to pry my foot out and help me back to camp. My dad was mad,"

Her face goes from a happy smiling face to a tense almost depressing look that overcomes her face. She averts her eyes from him at this point. Feeling the pinpricking of tears stinging her eyes.

"I was ten, I was in bed when the police came knocking at our door with the news. He was driving with a friend and a drunk driver got them. He was only seventeen, he was too young to be taken. My mom lost her mind after that, literally," Quinn's breathing becomes ragged as she begins to think about the funeral and her mother.

"She checked out mentally. I've had my ups and downs with her. I was angry with her but now I'm somewhat understanding of her. She confuses me as Max sometimes and it kills me," she bites down on her lips, to refrain herself from pouring her tears out in the office. She close to losing it.

"She has early onset dementia, so, she's in a hospital in New York. The bills have been getting so damn high that I've had to work overtime to support myself and my mom,"

"What about your dad?"

"K.I.A. Afghanistan," she replies quickly. "He knew that the job he chose came with that risk, it doesn't mean the blow wasn't hard on my mother and I. That's really what strained my relationship with her," she goes on to tell. "I promised her that I wouldn't do anything dangerous while she was around, and I haven't had the time to do anything since I have to worry about her and my roommate,"

"Have you ever just taken care of yourself?"

"I did when I was little and my dad was sent overseas for periods of time after my brother passed, that's how he overcame it. My mother closed herself off. I was forced to grow up and take care of myself," she hesitantly bites down on her thumb as she thinks of her mother.

"I blamed her a lot for how I was. I still believe I have every right to, I even went to the lengths of completing my college degree in law enforcement. But I realized I was being selfish, and stupid. I was blind to see that she was hurting just as much too," she sighs deeply as she pinches the bridge of her nose.

"This can't leave the room or this lesson at all. I don't need pity parties from everyone, including you," she snaps her fingers into pointing at him as he opened his mouth to console her. "I've had enough pity parties to last me for the rest of my life, Rogers, I just need a friend,"

"That's why I'm here," he speaks up, catching her attention. She gazes at him to see sorrow filled eyes yet he smiles and doesn't dwell on the topic like most people she knows. Instead, he offers her the comfort of him just lightly squeezing her hand, letting her know everything will be all right.

"If I ever get overbearing about your missions," she trails off, her gaze finding it's way to the linoleum floor. "You haven't been and you won't be. I'll try my best to make sure I'm careful. I always do," he informs her, as she lightly chuckles rubbing her eyes clear of any tears.

Watching her do so makes his heart sink a bit. She was never the type to even portray that she had a hard upbringing, she was always so nice, so positive, but now that she mentioned it she was always a little closed off to him. He understood why now.

"So how was hanging out with your friends then?" he asks trying to change the subject, he didn't want to make her feel even worse than what she already was.

She shrugs her shoulders in a lame attempt to answer earning a forward look from him as he pries for a better answer. "Jo wants to call it a date," she says softly. Steve's hands absentmindedly grip tighter onto his thigh.

"Joe? What's he like?" he asks, earning an eye roll from Quinn. "Jo is my roommate, not my date. Actually, she's the one who convinced me to go on this '_date_'." she clarifies, quoting the word with her fingers.

She scoffs at the thought of Maddox being her date again. "Ah," he hums out. "Then how was your '_date_'?" he questions. "Do you like him?"

Quinn let's out a way laugh at the question. "Maddox is very conceited. I have this weird love-hate thing with him." she tries to explain, earning a confused look from Steve. "On one hand is a bashful, goofy person who is extremely good looking and has a crush on me," she sticks her left hand out flat.

"On the other hand, he is a closed minded and just irritatingly cocky person, who offended me on the '_date_'," she explains sticking out the palm of her right hand.

Steve hums as he crosses his arms, leaning backward in the swivel chair, it squeaks under the weight. "What'd he do to offend you?" He inclines, watching Quinn's cheeks light up in embarrassment.

"Uh, you know," she stammers, leaning back in her chair to copy Steve as she thinks of a good excuse. He smiles as he watches her face become completely red as she becomes flustered.

"That's not really important," she dismisses quickly trying to change the subject. "The more important issue is have you been on a date since you came back?" she blurts out randomly.

She winces as she watches the confused expression cross his face, she came off very straightforward. She mentally slapped herself for the question. "You sound like Romanoff and Norris," he chuckles as his eyes now find their way to the floor and then looks back up at her embarrassed gaze.

"To tell you the truth, I haven't thought about dating since leaving the ice," he admits. For some reason, Quinn feels her heart deflating - out if relief or from being her she isn't sure. "I left that life behind when I laid my life down into the ice, I don't think I'm ready for anything in the present or the future," he shrugs.

Quinn nods her head as she takes in the information. She notes that even though he says he's happy and fine not dragging anyone with him into a relationship he looks sad but just by a twinge. "I can understand that," she speaks up, catching him off guard.

"Weirdly enough I do. I don't want to bring anyone into my life as well, it's chaos. Anyone who'd have me would have to be crazy enough to deal with everything in my life," she sighs. "I'm damaged goods," she tries to give him an apathetic smile but ultimately fails as she watches him analyze her facial features.

She watches his jaw clench at the word _'damaged goods',_ he looks tense at the phrase. He shakes his head before looking at her. "Thank you," he mumbles out. "For telling me everything, for understanding why I have no one,"

Quinn's lips press into a firm line, her hand instinctively grasps his tightly catching him off guard. "You don't have '_no one_', you have me as your friend and I'm sure you have more," Quinn coaxes with a small smile.

"But I don't think anyone should end up alone. Including you, Cap. You must never give up on hope," Steve tries his best not to roll his eyes as he listens to her. He's been told that there's hope all his life, why would finding anyone to share that with the matter or even be a source of hope? Quinn decides not to push him further as she watches how cold he acts towards the subject. Instead, she continues the video for him as she returns to coding.

The next time she speaks anything meaningful to him it's as they stand in the elevator on their way up to the main floor after everything had been locked up. Usually, by this time, the main floor was dimly lit, and no one except for the occasional scientist would stroll through. She exits the elevator with Steve still standing in it, he had to go to a different floor before leaving, something about safety protocols, even though he wanted to be there with Quinn in case something happened to her in the parking lot.

On some occasions, people would get mugged in the parking lot or at least attempt to not knowing if someone is an agent. She turns her attention to him, holding the doors open as she lets out a soft sigh while dropping her eyes to the ground.

She had just told him everything and now he won't stop looking at her like she was injured. "You'll find somebody," she says in a low voice. She watches as his brows raise in question at the statement, he could easily protest but he doesn't.

Instead, he continues to give her a soft gaze, a small smile appearing on his lips as she says, "I have hope,"


	14. CHAPTER XIV

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN**

**( **INTIMIDATION** )**

**THE LONG HOURS of overtime** were starting to take a toll on her well being. Quinn let out an exhausted yawn as she placed the soldering tool down, stretching her arms above her head to loosen her muscles.

She tried to keep her mind focused on working on the shock baton that was brought in for her to work on but she couldn't help but let herself wonder about Steve and his mission. She envied him. She wanted to be the one going out into the world and saving the day from threats; instead, she was cooped up in the office fixing tools that could potentially help out with saving the world.

She wonders if she could even attempt to do it, to risk her own life for the greater good like Steve did. If she had lost everything as he had she was sure she'd do it but, she hasn't lost everything yet.

She still had Jo and her mother, and of course Rudolph. Rudolph depended on her more than her own mother. She couldn't dream of a life without him being there for her, even though he is a dog.

Now she wasn't wishing to become an agent, she was doing fine where she was at the moment even if she was working overtime. Working overtime meant she could see Steve and that seemed to brighten her day most of the time.

Although she does fear that she spilled too much personal information about herself the other day. She couldn't help it, it was like verbal vomit. There was no stopping it.

Suddenly, her world goes dark, sending her into a panic. As she tries to get a grip on herself she realizes that the power has gone off, leaving her alone in the dark with her thoughts. Her breathing became rapid as panic began to set in. She had never experienced a power outage at S.H.I.E.L.D. she didn't think it was possible.

Her senses became more alert because of the absence of light, however, if she strains her eyes hard enough she can still see the corridor outside of the office dimly lit like usual. Was it just her office? Did she somehow blow a fuse while soldering?

No matter how much she wants to sigh she refrains, her mind still tricking her into thinking she's in danger. The office is eerily quiet without the music playing, even the hum of her light provided noise. This was dead silence, it irked her.

She couldn't sit down, all she could do was stand and turn slowly in a circle trying to get accustomed to the darkness so she could analyze her surroundings.

"Not a fan of the dark, are you?" a deep voice asks, startling her.

She jumps from the sudden sound and lets out a small shriek of surprise. "Who are you?" she asks, her voice is surprisingly hostile for being terrified. Her eyes try to catch a glimpse of a figure but they find no trace of anything.

She's blinded when the lights come back on, she had to shield her eyes for a moment from the suddenness of the light. As her eyes adjust she sees a figure cloaked in all black sitting in a chair beside her desk.

At first, she doesn't realize who this figure is but as her eyes adjust more her mind becomes more panicked. She's looking right at Nick Fury.

Her mouth opens and closes like a fish out of water as she tries to form the right words on how to address him. "Director Fury," she addresses with a mock salute, her voice trembling in the process. "At ease, _soldier_," his voice is icy as he scans over her for a moment.

She stands as stiff as a board in front of him, trying her best to avoid any eye contact with at all. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" she asks, trying to break the awkward silence between her and her boss.

Fury gestures over to her chair for her to take a seat. Quinn swallows the lump in her throat as she does as she's told. She thankful she's sitting down, otherwise, she may have fainted. "I see you're working on Agent Khan's baton," he muses trying to ease the tension from her.

Quinn nervously picks up the baton in an attempt to show him what was wrong but it doesn't turn on. "It's short-circuiting," she explains with a small nervous smile as the director looks at her with a bored expression.

"Tell me how does your law enforcement degree factor in what you do down here in I.T.?"

"It doesn't," she answers quickly, confused as to how or why this is being brought up.

"Then why are you here?" he inclines, placing his hands across his stomach in a somewhat relaxed position even though every inch of him looked defensive - on edge.

Quinn shrugs her shoulders as she remembers back to when they approached her. "It's what was offered to me,"

"You were offered an I.T. position after you clearly state that you have law enforcement training," Fury's voice sounds incredulous as he stares at her deadpan and unamused. "Not to mention your family history, your father was a general in the Marines. They told you to an I.T.-"

"With all due respect, sir," Quinn interrupts narrowing her eyes at him. Her family history was none of his business and why she was placed in I.T. instead of the field wasn't his either. "Why are you here?" she questions, her voice now defensive. She didn't want to come off as a straight forward jackass but he had pushed the right buttons.

Fury leans forward in his chair, challenging the young woman to try to be snarky again. "I've noticed you've been spending time with our superstar," he notes, pointing to the notebook that Quinn had splayed open, filled with a lesson for Steve.

"Steve?" she clarifies. Her lips pursed as she nods her head. "He needed someone to bring him up to date on the twenty-first century. Figured you guys would do that for him. Guess I was wrong,"

Fury scoffs at her statement. "They did mention you'd act like Stark in some ways," he mumbles out, causing Quinn to perk her brow in question. Did he talk to Steve about this? "We tried to bring him up to speed after he came back. He just wouldn't listen. I'm just trying to figure out-"

"Why he'd listen to me and not an agent?"

"Did your parents ever teach you not to interrupt?" he asks sarcastically as he leans forward obviously feeling agitated from her constant interruptions.

Quinn presses her lips together firmly, cheeks lighting up in embarrassment as she hears him mumble something out about being related to Stark in some way. The comment makes her roll her eyes, she didn't like the comparisons.

"I want to know your intentions," he explains.

"My intentions, sir?" Quinn repeats confused, her fingers intertwining themselves together in her lap.

"Yes, what are your intentions for Captain Rogers? Is it money? Fame? Romance?" he leans forward once again, his voice lowers dramatically as he asks, "Or is it something else?" The tone of his voice sounded lethal, sending a chill up her spine.

She knew that if he wanted her dead he could do it in an instant and no one would bat an eye or question him. "I just want to help, Steve, sir. My intentions are good, we're friends. Do you believe that I could be capable of hurting him?" she pries, narrowing her eyes at the director who leans back in his chair.

"You never know who you can and can't trust nowadays," he simply states. "I believe what you and Rogers are doing is good. You're keeping it under wraps, not wanting to cause hysteria, but you must be more careful. If I can find out you two are working together, someone else can. Someone who may not be as nice as me,"

Quinn restrains herself from scoffing at his statement. If he was implying he was nice then he might as well be implying that gravity doesn't exist.

"I just don't understand how you did find out," Quinn states, her brows perking in confusion causing Fury to laugh. "I had my suspicions after his first mission, why he was so eager to leave the debriefing. Found out it was because of you, been watching you guys ever since. It's cute, you guys have some weird puppy love happening-"

"Oh no, I don't like Steve like that," Quinn justifies with a forced smile.

"Keep telling yourself that," he jokes. "I got to him before he left his mission and told me everything up front as an order,"

"Does anyone else know?" she hesitantly asks. Fury purses his lips and nods his head. "A few agents. Barton, obviously. Romanoff, Norris, and Hill-" he points to the front door where Agent Maria Hill stood lounging in the door frame.

Quinn jumps at her sudden appearance, she hadn't known she was there she was more focused on Fury to even notice.

"Other than that it's a secret, and it'll stay that way," he adds on, before standing up. Quinn immediately rises when he does, looking curiously at him.

"I've taken the liberty of arranging you with lessons with Agent Norris," he announces, making Quinn even more confused. "You give Cap history lessons, Norris will teach you some defensive moves. As a precaution, just in case you're in trouble,"

"I can handle myself,"

"Oh, I have no doubt you can. But how long has it been since you got out of college?"

"A few years," her voice sounds on edge. She may not have been up to date on any combat but at least she knew how to if she needed.

"Compared to agents who fight almost every day. You'll be seeing Agent Norris. Captain's orders," he instructs her with a smirk, making her even more confused. "Did Steve want this?" she inquires sounding offended. She could easily take care of herself, she didn't need any training. She's done fine for the past few years.

"He wasn't against it," Fury shrugs, placing his hands behind his back before turning to leave. Her chest heaves with a frustrated sigh as she thinks about Steve dictating what was going to happen to her. She could scream at him.

"Go home, Cruise," Fury calls for her from the doorway. "You're going to need to save your energy,"

_**~ BOOK ONE: WINTER SOLDIER ~**_

** BY THE TIME Quinn arrives home** it's not even twenty-two hundred. It's the earliest she's ever returned home since being on strict overtime schedule. Her nerves were shaken from her encounter with Director Fury. He was intimidating, that's for sure. She's unsure how Steve can talk to him every so often without feeling on edge like she was.

As she opens the door she's greeted by Rudolph who whines and insists on jumping up on her to get her attention. She kneels to the ground, dropping her purse and keys to the floor to pet Rudolph. She needed to relieve the stress that was building up within her from the encounter.

Jo pads her was from the bathroom to see who has entered the loft, her eyes giving a look of relief as she spots Quinn. Quinn waves to her as she notices that she's on the phone with someone. Jo rolls her eyes as she covers the receiver of the phone and whispers out, "Kill me," to Quinn.

This has her in question of what's happening, she gives her a confused look as Jo's mouth opens in frustration listening to the person on the receiver. She slaps her side and pinches her nose, causing Quinn to let out a low chuckle as she approaches the kitchen island where Jo meets her at.

"Who is it?" she whispers to her roommate, taking a few grapes out of the fridge and plopping them in her mouth. Jo holds up her index finger to Quinn before stuttering out a goodbye to the person on the phone.

She lets out a loud, exasperated sigh of frustration as she hangs up the phone, causing Quinn to laugh. Immediately, Jo pulls out a wine glass and fills it with white wine, taking a couple of sips of it before she starts to gulp.

Quinn perches herself on a bar stool at the island, plopping more grapes into her mouth as she scans over who irritated Jo looks at the moment. She waits until the right moment to ask what's happening, knowing Jo could spout off at any given time.

"My sister's pregnant," Jo finally says after a gulp of wine. Quinn hums elatedly as she chews a grape. "Well, that's good. I didn't know her and Tamara were trying to get pregnant," Quinn congratulates her roommate, as Jo begins wryly snickering. "They weren't," she informs Quinn with a tipsy smirk. Quinn furrows her brows in confusion trying to make ends meet with everything. "So Jaclyn wasn't inseminated?"

"Nope," Jo answers, taking another gulp of wine.

"_What!_ So she cheated on Tamara?" Quinn's voice is higher than expected when she asks the question. She can't help but erupt into a giggle as Jo nods her head. "Well, that's problematic,"

"That's not even the best part," Jo adds on with a sly smile, leaving Quinn in suspense while she took a sip of wine. "She's having a shotgun wedding,"

"With the guy?"

"With Tamara,"

"_What!_ They're _still _together? Wow, that's either love or that's psychotic,"

Jo shrugs her shoulders as she finishes her glass of wine. She pulls out another wine glass and fills it up along with the one in front of her and offers one to Quinn. "The wedding is this weekend so I have to fly out either tomorrow or Thursday. Are you able to take care of Rudolph while I'm away? I would have Josh come in and check up on him but he's coming with me," Jo requests, watching Quinn sip on her wine.

She never was a fan of the bitter taste that the alcohol had. Her face scrunched up as she forced herself to swallow the liquid. "Of course, I don't think I can do overtime anymore anyways," she answers, slightly coughing as the alcohol found its down her throat.

"You're really serious about this Josh guy, huh?" Quinn observes as she tries to take another sip of the wine, taking it in much smaller than the last sip. It still tasted bitter. Enough for her to gag. Jo nods her head dreamily, it's as if Quinn had just said the name of the love of her life. It made her feel uneasy. Jo was falling for this guy hard, and she barely knew him.

Quinn rolls her eyes with a smirk as she raises up from the bar stool. "You guys are gross," she complains as she sticks out her tongue in mock disgust, earning a chuckle from Jo. "You'll understand someday," Jo calls out to her as she heads into her room, shaking her head at the statement. She didn't have time for love.


	15. CHAPTER XV

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN **

**( **HOOKED **)**

**PEOPLE IN THE corridor are muttering **to themselves while looking down as her as she passes through, her head lowered as she tries to avert the gaze of any agent that looked her way. She clutches tighter on to her purse, biting down on her lip anxiously as she scans the room numbers trying to find the correct door that would lead to where she needed to go. She had received a text from a strange number telling to meet within the gym of sub-level eight.

She had never been on this floor, mainly because it was strictly off-limits to anyone who wasn't an agent or a scientist. She was sure that most of the eyes that lingered on her were wondering what she was doing down here, perhaps even reporting her to their supervisors. Had they been notified by Fury that she'd be on this level? Why has no one questioned her presence here yet?

A pounding sound perks her up as she neared an area that had double doors at the entrance. She looked at the bold white number by the side of the door _8372_. The same as which the text had instructed her to go to.

She swallowed the lump in her throat as she nervously places a hand on the double doors, swinging them open to reveal a small gym. It wasn't as large as she thought it would be, and it wasn't crowded with agents learning new techniques or showing off. It looked to be replicated from an old gym from decades ago, nothing high tech.

"Hey!" a voice calls out to her, catching her off guard. Quinn spins around to catch a glimpse of who was calling out to her, only to see a woman walking away from a punching bag, black gloves still on her hands. Her dark hair was pulled up into a ponytail, she had clearly been working up a sweat in the gym. "Are you Cruise?" she questions as she grabs her water bottle of a nearby bench, continuing to saunter her way over to her.

"Uh, yeah," she answers with uncertainty, as the woman approaches her. At first, the woman doesn't introduce herself, she stands in front of her, scanning her figure as she drinks from her water bottle. "I'm Agent Norris," she addresses after she swallows her water, sticking out her hand which is wet from the perspiration from her water bottle.

Quinn still gives her hand a shake, acknowledging that she would be training from her. "Fury says that you have some law enforcement training in your background so you know some basics, where do you stand with combat right now? Have you recently been in combat with someone?" she questions, beckoning her to follow her through the gym.

"I accidentally knocked my roommate's boyfriend out a couple of weeks ago," Quinn informs her in a lame attempt to make a joke. Thankfully it works as Agent Norris snorts out a laugh. "Must have a helluva right hook," she mutters out as she stops at the bench closest to the boxing ring in the center of the room.

Quinn shrugs off her purse and sweatshirt and lays them on the bench next to Agent Norris's belongings as Agent Norris scans her over once again. Quinn doesn't seem to notice most of the scopes from Agent Norris, but when she does she feels as if she's being judged. Her cheeks turn a light hue of pink from the constant once overs Agent Norris is giving her.

"I can see it," she mumbles out to herself as she tosses her water bottle off to the side asking if Quinn has stretched. Quinn confirms she has, she did it before she went on her jog this morning. Agent Norris raises her brows at Quinn's commitment to get up and jog early in the morning only to come straight to work to train in self-defense.

"Per orders," Agent Norris speaks up, tossing a pair of white boxing gloves to Quinn to put on. "Fury wants to go over the self-defense techniques first, which it sounds like you may or may not be rusty on from when you last sparred back in college. We'll do a once over at first, we'll practice, and then we'll do one for real for each move I teach you. Got it?"

"Yes, ma'am," Quinn replies, tapping her gloves together to make sure they fit on her hands, balling them up into fists shortly afterwards. Agent Norris is the first to step foot into the rings, offering Quinn help up into it. The canvas of the ring feels squishy underneath her feet. "All right, we're going to learn how to block punches today," Agent Norris announces, stretching her gloved hands out and then clenching them up into fists.

"Remember, when you block a punch, you have to keep your hands clamped together, like so, and putting them up in front of your face," Agent Norris demonstrates this by placing both of her gloved hands together in front of her, blocking her face from view of Quinn as she tightly pulls them in together. Agent Norris turns to the side resting your forehead or pretty close to resting against it," Quinn takes her time in turning to her side just as her instructor.

Agent Norris comes in and adjusts her arms against her body telling her to be tighter, this isn't a languid fighting technique like martial arts this is basic kickboxing. Agent Norris inspects her once again and nods her head in approval. She rounds Quinn in the front, mitts up in a fighting manner. "I want you to try to throw a couple of punches at me to see what it can do and then I'll throw a couple at you," Agent Norris instructs her.

Quinn's hands are starting to sweat underneath the large mitts she was given. She didn't want to throw any punches at anyone but she was being demanded to. Nervously Quinn throws a couple of jabs in Agent Norris direction, none land on her face, just into the mitts, demonstrating the defensive tactic. Agent Norris directs her to stand in the position she was taught.

Quinn does as followed, making sure to keep tight as instructed. Agent Norris gives her a once over, circling her to make sure her form is correct before jumping in front of her and throwing a couple punches her way. Quinn staggers as she's hit, even if it was through the gloves she can feel the burning sensation through them as if she had really been hit.

"Very nice," Agent Norris compliments with a smile. "You're a fast learner. Remember to keep everything tight, and look down so you can still view your opponent," she demonstrates by peeking her head out just a tad underneath her gloves. Quinn follows her lead, earning appraisal from the agent.

"You can also slide your arm up," she adds on, sliding her shoulder upwards to block her face with her hand. "If they want to come up to hook you. You have to slide your arm straight up or else they're going to see an opportunity to hit you in your ribs, remember to be tight," she informs nodding towards Quinn to go ahead and try it. Quinn moves her shoulder upwards, along with her mitt as she blocks a slow punch from Agent Norris.

She scans Agent Norris's concentrated expression as she hit Quinn's fist from the opposite side. If she didn't know any better she'd figure she was bored from how slow-paced the training was.

"Moving on," she calls out, her voice echoing against the walls of the gym. Quinn takes this time to slump her shoulders back to their original relaxed position as she watched Agent Norris pace in front of her. "We're going to be learning the slip back," she states, planting her feet in front of Quinn.

"Go ahead and throw a punch," she challenges. Quinn juts out her fist slowly, watching as the agent smirks while leaning backwards. She grabs a hold of her outstretched fist, making sure it stays in the position.

"See how I dodged it?" she says, moving her head somewhat to the side to look at Quinn in the eyes. "When you go back, you want to have all your weight on your back leg so it's easier to dodge," she pat's her left leg, to draw attention to it. "Turn your shoulder in just a little bit, just in case they decide to come in again," she turns her shoulder slowly, maintaining eye contact with Quinn. "But the main point is just to lean back with your weight on your rear leg, so you can strike forward with more power with your backhand," she pushes Quinn's gloved hand back down, dropping it to her side before lifting her gloves up in an offensive manner.

"Show me," she spits out, rocking back on the balls of her feet. Quinn takes note of how agile and cat-like she looks as she taunts her. She exhales as she nods her head, waiting for the strike. Her fist comes from the front at a fast speed, catching Quinn off guard. She lets out a squeak as she staggers backwards, landing on her rear.

She groans at the spiking pain she feels, rubbing her lower back. She peers up to see Agent Norris's gloved hand sticking out to her. "Again," she instructs her.

Quinn begrudgingly takes her hand, as she recuperates from the close call she had with getting punched in the face. Her lips tug down in a determined frowned as she nods towards her instructor. She blocks the jab, but Agent Norris demands she tries again, making sure she has the move handled, even making her try it from the left side.

After Agent Norris is convinced she knows the technique she moves on to the next subject. "Do you know what parrying is?" she questions Quinn, who gulps away at her water. Quinn shrugs her shoulders. "Somewhat. Remind me," she says with a challenging smile that Agent Norris returns as she watches Quinn put her gloves up defensively. "Go ahead and slowly throw a punch," she commands.

Quinn waits a moment, trying to catch her off guard with how fast she throws her fist at her. Instead of surprising the agent, Agent Norris quickly grabs the mitt with both of her hands to stop it. Quinn's brows raise in surprise as she watches Agent Norris smirk.

"Parrying is just a defensive slap. When you do it, you want to slap their hand towards their body," she demonstrates by hitting the outside of her left arm forcing her body to turn to the right. She returns her fist back to where Agent Norris had it originally.

"I'm not doing this," she says as she hits the inside of her left arm. "That gives them the advantage. You've opened them up so they can come in with their other hand and deliver a blow. You want to," she hits her left arm on the outside again.

"Close it off, causing them to put all of their weight on their least dominant side and giving you an advantage to strike the ribs. Try it," she says as she places her hands up defensively once again. Quinn throws another lunch in her direction, easily getting thrown off by Agent Norris's parry. Her elbow stings at the sensation. "Other arm," she calls out as Quinn recoils from the blow.

She thrusts her fist out again only to have the same thing happen to her other arm. Agent Norris grabs her fist and places in front of her, holding it still. "At the same time you want to move your head away from the punch," she demonstrates by moving her head to the left as she moves her arm to the right. Quinn nods her head in understanding. You move your head with the punch," she moves her head along with her arm to the right. "You risk knocking yourself out with their hit,"

Agent Norris releases her glove and asks her to try it. Quinn tries punching her multiple times, only to get pushed away each time. She panting by the time Agent Norris stops her fist by grabbing on to it. She nods her head at Quinn, planting her feet and raising her gloves. Quinn straightens her posture, waiting for the strike.

She blocks Agent Norris's first lunge just barely, she has no time to regroup her mind as Agent Norris's second fist connects with her cheek. There's darkness and stars at the same time in her vision as she falls to the tarp, cradling her cheek.

The sensation is throbbing instead of stinging, her cheekbone feels as if it's radiating heat. Agent Norris is by her side in a moment, taking off her gloves to look at the injury she had sustained. Quinn can't hear anything she mumbling out, all she can hear is a ringing sensation. She grabs on to Quinn's shoulders, shaking her as she looks confused.

"Cruise, are you okay?" Agent Norris questions in a concerned yet panicked voice. Quinn gives her a small smile as she nods. "I can't hear out of my right ear," she answers, pointing to her ear, a lazy smile drifting across her face. Agent Norris huffs out a sigh as she yanks on Quinn's arms, forcing her to stand. "Come on," she groans. "Let's take you to the med bay,"


	16. CHAPTER XVI

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN **

**( **ACHILLES HEEL** )**

**THE MED BAY is teaming with** nurses and doctors who all have treated agents before, never an I.T. They give odd looks to each other as they pass the makeshift hospital bed that Quinn was placed on, Agent Norris by her side reading a magazine.

If it weren't for the pain medications that she was given she'd feel embarrassed at the prying eyes but she felt warm and tingly inside. The sensation made her giggle to herself, causing drool to find it's way out of her mouth. The cotton that had been preventing her cheek from anymore swollen within her mouth wasn't absorbing any saliva in it anymore.

She absentmindedly touches her swollen cheek, wincing at the pain it caused. Agent Norris places the magazine on her lap and grabs ahold on her hand, pulling it away from her cheek and on to the bed.

"Let's not do this," she bargains with Quinn in a sweet voice, smiling at her even though she was thoroughly irritated on the inside. She was missing out on a whole days worth of work to spend it in the med bay with her trainee. "How long am I supposed to be in here?" Quinn asks with a lisp. Agent Norris shrugs her shoulders as she returns her attention back to her magazine. "A few hours, at least until the pain killers wear off. Didn't know they'd give you that strong of a dose,"

"Are you here to watch me?" Quinn asks, wiggling her eyebrows, making her instructor feel uncomfortable.

"I'm here to make sure you don't get into trouble while on meds," Agent Norris answers with an eye roll. "Do you think I'm weak?"

"I don't think you're weak. That's why I hit you so hard. I do think you're inexperienced," Agent Norris's voice sounds on edge from the constant questions. All she wanted to do was read her magazine in peace, yet she still was reminded why she was in the med bay in the first place with Quinn's yammering. "Do you think-"

"Shh," the agent hushes her, zipping her finger across her lips. It was a polite way to say zip it. Quinn narrows her eyes at her as she leans back into the bed. If her mind wasn't foggy she'd be able to defend herself but she couldn't under the haze of medications.

There was a commotion coming from outside the room, a flurry of people started to call out a certain name that made a shiver run up Agent Norris's spine, and forced her to toss the magazine off to the side. She knew he was on his way to see Quinn. She looked over at the I.T. girl, who seemed to be giggling from the medication once.

Agent Norris rolls her eyes, she was going to have to explain the situation herself. Steve's large stature appeared in the doorway, scanning over the small medical room where his friend lay in the bed, an agent at her side.

"Steve!" Quinn greets, her voice cracking under the drugs.

For a split second, he's relieved that she's somewhat okay but then his expression falters as he gazes at the bruise engulfing her cheek and the bandage wrapped from her jaw to the top of her head, an ice pack on the right side of her face where the bruise was. His gaze rests upon Agent Norris who smirks up at him. "What happened?" he asks, as he enters the room fully, stepping over to Quinn's bedside. "We had an accident," Agent Norris affirms, gesturing towards Quinn's bruised face.

"Is this considered work comp?" Quinn asks in a loud voice, startling the two agents in the room. "Probably not..." she mumbles to herself, answering her own question and relaxing back into the pillows of the bed.

Steve turns his attention back to Agent Norris, she scoffs at his gaze. "Would you relax? She's fine," she defends herself. Steve raises his brows at the word '_fine_', crossing his arms across his chest. "'_Fine_'? Her head is wrapped up like a Christmas present. How is she fine?"

"We were training. She handled herself pretty well until we started parrying, then it got a little tricky,"

"Tricky?"

"She's actually really good, she knows how to defend herself pretty well. We're on the basics right now,"

"Who gave you the order to start training her?"

As if he had asked the magic question Agent Hill walks into the small medical room, her hands clasped behind her back as she nods to both agents in the room in greeting. "Miss Cruise, how are you holding up?" she questions the injured girl.

Quinn shrugs as another lazy smile crosses her lips. "I feel good," she hums out, stretching her arms above her head. "I feel really good," she emphasizes, her voice cracking once again. Agent Hill tries to stifle back a smile but she fails as she watches Quinn stretch again.

"Yeah, that's the Vicodin talking," Agent Hill hums out. She turns around to the two agents in the room who give her their absolute undivided attention. "She can leave after the Vicodin wears off, she's allowed to have the next couple of days off while her injury heals. We can't have the I.T. department questioning where she got her shiner. The doctors are already asking why she was decked if she's not an agent. We can't raise any more questions,"

"How long does the Vicodin take to wear off?" Quinn croaks from behind Agent Hill. She gives her a soft smile as she looks at her. "Four maybe six hours depending on how much they gave you," she answers, watching Quinn's face grow concerned.

She sits up from laying down in the bed. "Oh no, no, no, no, no," she chants out unhappily, removing the sheet from her legs. Agent Hill tries to calm her down by making hushing sound and placing a firm grip on her wrist. "My roommate's not home. I have to get home. I have a dog. He needs to go outside. It's important. He'll start to worry," she slurs out in a panic, her heart beginning to race at the thought of being trapped at S.H.I.E.L.D. for hours in the med bay just waiting to be released. "You can't drive," Agent Hill protests.

"I'll drop her off," Steve chimes in, earning surprised looks from Agent Hill and Norris. Quinn's eyes light up at his offer. "You have to debrief with Fury, you just got back," Agent Hill shakes her head. Quinn's hope starts to fade with each shake of Agent Hill's head.

"I'll debrief with Fury as she waits on being released from the med wing. It shouldn't take longer than that. In the meantime Blair can stick with her just in case she tries to bail since she's drugged up," Steve insists, earning an eye roll from Blair as she grabs her magazine once more.

Agent Hill's lips press in a thin line as she gazes at him, finally letting out a sigh of defeat. "Agent Norris?" she calls out to Blair without turning her back. "Yeah, I'll stay," the agent hums out. "Debrief with Fury first, then come get her," she instructs him before leaving the room. "Get better, Cruise," she calls out over her shoulder.

Quinn slurs out a thank you before laying back down on the bed. Sitting up exhausted her. The world seemed to spin as she opened her eyes. "Hey," Steve greets her with a warm smile. Quinn gives him a groggy hum in response, her lids were starting to grow heavy. "Get some rest, I'll be back," he tells her, stroking her forearm in a comforting manner. Quinn gives him one last small smile before letting her eyes rest.

He smiles at how peaceful she looks, only to receive a searing pain coming from the back of his left leg. He turns around to see Blair smirking at him as she examines the space between him and Quinn, her leg crossing over the other after kicking him in the back of the knee. He gives her an incredulous look as she begins to chuckle. "I just found your Achilles heel,"

_**~ BOOK ONE: WINTER SOLDIER ~**_

**LUCID DREAMS WERE taking over Quinn's** mind. Dreams of being a superhero like Steve, fighting off aliens while he stood by helplessly on the sidelines. For once in her life, she felt empowered, in charge of what happened to her. It was going fine until an alien tackles her to the ground forcing her to scream out in surprise. It starts shaking her shoulders.

Suddenly her eyes pry themselves open, squinting at the newfound light that made its way into the med bay room. The room still is spinning from the last time she shut her eyes, everything still seems to be in a haze. She remembers Agent Hill saying something about Vicodin. She peers around the room, Agent Norris - Blair - is no longer in the room.

"Quinn," a soft voice calls out her name. She looks right in front of her go see Steve's large stature standing over her, his hands grasping on to her shoulders. He must've shaken her awake. She smiles sheepishly at him before her lids become heavy once again. She can feel herself starting to go limp from the pain meds again.

"Hey Stevie," she whispers out. He smiles at the new pet name she calls him, never thinking he'd hear her say it. "Are you ready to get out of here?" he asks her, causing her to groan as she rubs her eyes. "What time is it?" she slurs out, attempting to yawn but the gauze around her head makes it short, irritating her jaw.

She slides her feet off the side of the bed, in an attempt to stand up. "It's seventeen hundred," he answers, wrapping his arm around her waist to try to steady her as she stands. "Seventeen hundred?" she slurs out trying to sound outraged but it comes out sloppy. She staggers forward as she tries to take a step.

"I've been out for hours," she whispers to herself as she tries to steady herself. Once again, Steve grabs ahold of her waist to balance her. She looks up at him confused but doesn't question him as she admits she can't walk on her own without her legs trying to give out. He passes her her purse, as she looks up at him, she can see the softness in his features as she digs around for her keys. There was no way she could drive home.

She could feel a tingly sensation in the pit of her stomach as she feels the presence of his hand around her waist. She tosses him her keys, feeling woozy as she begins to stride forward with him. She almost hits her head as she tries to get into the car he leads her too. She feels completely exhausted after walking all the way out to the parking garage.

She passes him her keys as she starts to strap herself in. "You remember the address?" she questions, as she leans her head on the window of her car. "I think I can manage," he states as he places a blue baseball cap on his head. She snorts as if a baseball cap could disguise him from being Captain America.

The car rumbles to life, with it, she starts to lightly drift off only speaking when Steve has a question on which way to turn. The last question she remembers him asking is where to park to which she can barely mumble out before exhaustion hits her like a freight train and she dozes off. No matter how many times he tries to shake her awake her eyes stay glued shut as the lull of a soft snore echos in the silence.

Steve shuffles around in the car to find something that has her address on it. Of course, he had gotten her to the complex she lived in but he didn't know which apartment she was in. Finally, his hand comes across a sheet of paper with her name typed on it. An envelope from Dr. Meredith Woodruff M.D. from New York City, her address right smack dab in the middle.

Steve let's out a sigh of relief as he exits the car, wondering if that had been a previous bill from her mother's stay. It's tricky to get her out of the car, maneuvering her around to place her in his arms while shutting the door with his foot. He pleads with her to try to get her to stand up for a moment while he unlocks the front door to her building, she moans in protest as she stands, giving him very little opportunity to open the door before she slumps forward.

He takes her in his arms once again as he heads over to the elevator, tapping once on the button for the doors to squeak open. The ride up to the fourth floor where she lives in short, but in the meantime, he examines how she's curled up into his chest. The bruise on her cheek is starting to extend to her jaw in a dark purple mark.

He felt bad for her if he'd had known this is what Fury would do when he told him then he would've lied. He encourages her to stand once more as he tries to unlock the door to her apartment, this time she's a little more cooperative with him.

Once he swings the door open they're greeted by Rudolph who takes a running jump and knocks them both over in the hallway. Quinn shouts in pain as she presses on her jaw, the pain is blinding as she lays down on the ground of the hallway.

Steve is able to push Rudolph off of them before picking Quinn back up on her feet. Her legs give out as soon as she enters the loft, she starts to collapse to the ground but Steve is there, holding on to her arm for support. He grabs ahold of her waist, standing her up completely before dipping down and clutching on to the back of her knees, cradling her in his arms once again.

"Let's get you to bed," he coos, making his way down the hallway, with her approving of her sleeping. She directs him sleepily to her room, where he lays her down on her bed, before covering her up with the plush light blue comforter. Her eyes shut immediately as soon as her head hits the pillow. He's almost confident that she's asleep until he turns to leave and he feels her hand tugging on his.

"Stay..." she mumbles out in a croaky voice. "I don't want to be alone..." she breathes out, her eyes are barely open as they gaze up at him. Steve's lips press into a thin line as he debates whether or not this is her or the drugs talking. Yet, there's something in her eyes that spark something in him, it's fear hidden in her eyes. She's scared to be alone.

"All right," he whispers back to her, nodding his head. She gives him a lazy smile as she starts to doze off. Steve crosses over as he let's out a sigh of frustration, placing his hands on his hips while looking down at her. What was he supposed to do if she slept?

His fingers brushed through her hair absentmindedly, moving the loose strands of her ponytail out of her face. She smiles at the feeling in her sleep, causing heat to rush to his cheeks as he felt a small smile crawl across his face. He turned to observe the bedroom, clothes were thrown in a hamper sitting beside her dresser, it overflowed.

Pictures were placed on shelves that hung off of the walls, one of her as a kid with who she assumed to be her brother, another one of her with a grad cap and gown, along with various other photos. A degree adorns one of the shelves with a graduation date of 2008. He smiles as he looks at all of the things that made Quinn - Quinn.

There's a thumping that startles him a little, bringing him out of his curious state. He peers down to the golden retriever that had once chased him, leash sticking out of his mouth. Steve finally realizes that this is why she wanted to come home earlier. She had to take care of Rudolph, who, he assumed, hadn't been out all day.

The dog lets out a high pitched whine as he continues to stare up at Steve wagging his tail against the wooden floor making the thumping sound. He crouches down and pats Rudolph on the head as he takes the leash out of his mouth. "Let's go," he tells the dog as he hooks the leash to his collar, jingling Quinn's keys in his pocket to make sure he had a way back it, no telling if she'd get up if he buzzed the door.

Rudolph dances in circles as they make their way over to the front door, then he takes charge as soon as he's out in the hallway. They wait together patiently as the elevator doors squeak open, revealing an older woman with her tiny dog in her arms. She gives him a once over as they enter the elevator, his lips press into a firm line. "Evening," he greets, adjusting his hat. This was going to be awkward.


	17. CHAPTER XVII

**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN**

**( **COUCH HOPPING **)**

**THE MATTRESS SQUEAKS in protest as** the weight of another individual sneaks into it. Quinn lay face down fast asleep, snoring into her pillow. She's woken by a sharp shaking of her shoulders once again. She groans, getting ready to yell at whoever it was, especially if it was Steve again. Her neck was tired of being whiplashed.

"What?" she questions whoever was shaking her awake. "Who's on our couch?" Jo's voice alerts her from her tired state. She raises up from her pillow in a panic. Had someone gotten in? Jo gasps, pressing her hands to her lips as she gazes at Quinn.

"What happened to your face?" she asks, her voice rising in panic. Quinn feels the cotton fabric of the gauze wrapped around her head as she starts to regain memories of yesterday. She cringes as she remembers Blair's fist connecting with her cheek hard.

Quinn throws her comforter off her, ignoring Jo's question and heading into the living room. "Hello? What happened to your face?" Jo repeats following her down the hallway. Quinn rests her eyes on the sleeping figure snoring on the couch, navy blue cap over his face while Rudolph sleeps on his legs.

She can feel her face start heating up with anger as she tries to find an excuse about Steve sleeping on their couch. She spins to see Jo, duffel bag attached to her shoulder. She must've just gotten in from the wedding. "Did you just get in?" Quinn asks pointing to the mauve bag strapped to her shoulder, as she slowly moves back towards the edge of the couch where Steve is sleeping. Jo furrows her brows at her roommate, a scowl forming on her face.

"What happened to your face!" her voice starts to rise in frustration. Quinn attempts to smile but an aching pain shoots through the right side of her face. "I tripped while running," she lies, earning another scowl from Jo. She plants her hands on Steve's shoulders, startling him awake, he looks up at her dazed and confused and then to the new face in the room. Jo's face lights up in surprise as the Navy blue hat falls off his face. "This is Gerard," Quinn lies once again. "He's my friend from France. He's just crashing on the couch until his hotel lets him check-in,"

Steve sheepishly smiles up at the gawking girl. "Bonjour," he greets in a thick American accent, earning a frown from Quinn. She hopes that Jo buys it, she hasn't been keen on paying attention to her lately now that Josh is on her mind. She misses conversations with her completely so she may have said that a French friend was staying over. "_Bonjour__, __**Gerard**_," Jo humors the act. "_Ça va?_"

Steve raises his brows at the phrase. Quinn panics as she thinks he can't answer and she can't provide him the information without Jo seeing. "Jo he's tired. I think we should-"

"_Ça __va_ _bien__, __et_ _toi__?_" Steve replies, his accent becoming better the more awake he becomes, he sits up on the couch. Quinn raises her brows impressed by the response, to the looks of it so is Jo. They both weren't expecting a fluent and languid response. "I'm not going to lie, I don't speak French that well," Jo admits, looking apathetically at Steve.

For a moment Quinn is relieved thinking Jo has bought into the story until Jo starts giggling. "But I know for damn sure that you're not Gerard, you're Captain America," Jo's voice sounds almost giddy as she smiles at Steve until she turns her surprised face up to Quinn. "What's Captain America doing here? Did you bag and tag him?"

"Oh please," Quinn says, rolling her eyes at the phrase. "I didn't 'bag and tag' anyone. I simply fell on my face while running and he was kind enough to help me," she puts pressure into his shoulders, indicating for him to roll with it.

"In return, she's teaching me some new things from this century. Like what Netflix is," Steve adds, wiggling the television remote in his hand for his. Jo nods her head as she validates the story, relieving Quinn of any more stress.

"I'm sorry," Steve apologizes to Jo. "I just wanted to make sure she was all right after that tumble. I must have dozed off. Nothing happened," he specifies, shaking his head innocently. Jo snorts in response, making her way over to the end of the couch where his legs weren't resting. "Please, if anything did happen between you two it'd be a blessing. Quinn's been rather stressed and I think if she got la-"

"That's enough," Quinn interrupts, listening to Steve chuckle. Jo innocently looks up at Quinn, biting her lip as Quinn pinches the bridge of her nose in frustration. "What happened at the wedding? Why are you home so early?"

"It was a shotgun wedding. It was super thrown together so I didn't stay long. I wasn't even the maid of honor,"

"Ouch," Quinn hisses in response, attempting to yawn in the process but the head wrap won't let her.

Her fingers claw up at the gauze, ripping the itchy fabric off of her face. Steve grunts up at her in protest, reaching a hand out to stop her yet he stops himself. With Jo's eye fixated on him, he felt like it wasn't his place to try to handle Quinn.

"What time is it?" she asks her roommate, tossing the gauze aside pressing softly on the bottom of her jaw. "Six twenty," Jo answers, her eyes drifting towards her phone for a split second before resting her eyes on Steve once again.

A jealous feeling shoots through Quinn as she watches Jo gaze at Steve with infatuation but it's easily overcome by the feeling of panic. She's late.

She curses to herself as she grabs her tennis shoes from near the door and tosses them next to her room. "Can you fix up my face?" Quinn calls to Jo. "I don't want anyone to ask what happened, I was alone while running and you know how Maddox is,"

"I'll try my best, this will be a project for sure," Jo agrees, looking at the large purple bruise encasing the side of her face.

She crosses the room to take ahold of Quinn's face, placing her chin between her thumb and index finger, carefully tilting it up so she could examine the injury.

"It's going to hurt when I blend it," she explains, dropping her roommate's chin from her hand. Quinn shrugs her shoulders before crossing her arms across her chest. "Just do what you need to do," she hisses out.

As Jo leaves to grab the makeup her gaze makes its way over to Steve, who is petting Rudolph. Her chest feels tight for a moment while watching the interaction until Steve looks over at her with curious eyes.

She attempts to smile but ultimately fails as one side of her face protests against any movement. Her lips twitch as she struggles to try to smile, earning a small chuckle from Steve.

"I tried," she huffs out, softly touching the bruise. She had no idea how she was going to be able to run with Maddox without anyone noticing, Jo can make magic using makeup but this may be out of her league.

Steve crosses the room and takes her chin in his hand to examine the bruise just as Jo did. Her face feels hot from the closeness of their bodies, then she barely remembers how she got into the loft last night - all she remembers is that she was close to his chest.

This ignites a new feeling in her core, one that tingles with butterflies. "It'll heal in a week, at least that's what Agent Hill said. I'm sorry Fury made put you up through training. This is my fault," he apologizes. He was blaming himself for getting her knocked out causing Quinn to snort.

"If anything this is my fault, I should've parried but I just stood there like an idiot," she excuses herself. "Now I know how Josh felt like," she jokes, earning a questioning look from Steve.

She tries to bite down on her lip out of nervous habit but the bruising protests her from doing anything extraneous with her jaw. "I accidentally knocked Jo's boyfriend out on first meeting, it was dark, he was a stranger, it was self-defense," she admits with a small embarrassed blush strewing across her cheeks.

Steve laughs at the thought of Quinn actually knocking someone out, someone a lot bigger than her. He knew she had law enforcement training but at the same time she was - Quinn.

Quinn who would never hurt a fly, or worried about the cuts and bruises on his face when he got back from a mission. He never pictured her to be reckless.

"You're just a little a terror, I feel bad for Norris now,"

"Well, Norris did whoop my ass. She's at least twelve percent more lethal than me,"

Steve let's out a small chuckle at the statement as he gazes into her eyes. They held a conscious but dreamy haze in them, something he hadn't noticed before, as he absentmindedly closes in on the gap between them.

Quinn's mind runs with panic, she's hyper-aware of how close Steve is standing, she doesn't know how to deal with it. She nervously chuckles as she begins pushing herself away from him.

She didn't know how to handle the emotions she was feeling at the moment, nor had she thought about them like this before. Steve shoots her a confused look before he too realizes that she's uncomfortable with the situation, he pushes himself backward as well with an apologetic smile.

"I, uh..." Quinn tries to stammer out, her hand running against the back of her neck, trying to soothe her nerves. "I should get going," Steve announces hastily just as Jo walks into the room.

"So soon?" Jo wonders, as she begins setting her makeup down on the kitchen island. "We were just about to do makeovers," she teases patting the barstool for Quinn to sit on.

Quinn looks up to Steve with a nervous look to only be met with an embarrassed almost shameful look from him. "Yeah, I need to get running too," he answers Jo, avoiding eye contact with Quinn.

Quinn notices this and feels a little hurt, he was purposely avoiding her as if he was starting to ignore her. She didn't want to read too much into it. Perhaps this was his way of dealing with the awkwardness.

She purses her lips, determined to not make a fuss at this. "See you around then," she says, patting his shoulder in an attempt to say goodbye.

This catches his attention, his eyes connect with hers and are filled with some remorse of the action he had tried. He nods his head once, from what she could tell there seemed to be a small pout forming on his lips.

He sighs before heading towards the door, Quinn grips on his forearm as he walks away, making sure Jo is entertained with feeding Rudolph before speaking. "Do you have-"

"Natasha," he answers before she even finishes her thought. Her lips purse as he answers her without a care. Agent Romanoff has been close to him just as Agent Barton since they were a part of the Avengers with him.

If anything she idolized Agent Romanoff over Steve, she didn't have superpowers she was just lethal. And now she knew where she lived.

She swallows a large lump in the back of her throat as she releases her grip of Steve's arm. His shoulders heave as another sigh rakes through him, he feels guilty.

Quinn tries to give him an assuring smile but her bruise will not let her. She's starting to grow frustrated with her injury. "Captain America wait!" Jo calls out.

"It's Steve," Quinn and Steve correct Jo at the same time, earning a curious glance between the two from her.

"If you're learning about the future with Quinn, does that mean we'll be seeing you around more often?"

Steve glances up at Quinn, who once again tries to give an encouraging smile forcing herself through the pain. He smiles back at the attempt before looking towards Jo. "Yes,"

**~ BOOK ONE: WINTER SOLDIER ~**

**THE THROBBING PAIN of her bruised** face ached with each step. She didn't think this through all the way. Thankfully Jo was right beside her, pressing on the back of her elbow as Quinn tried to reach the front of the group.

She was surprised to see Jo actually running up with her. Usually, she remained in the back but she was up there with her, however, she did notice her face was redder than usual.

Whenever Quinn started to slow down for her Jo pushed her elbow to continue her fast and steady pace. The thick layer of foundation that covered her cheek was sure to be sweating off.

Her hand instinctively covers the side of her face where it was wounded, trying her best to cover it up without anyone really noticing. But Jo notices. She yanks back on Quinn's sweatshirt indicating that she can slow down if needed.

It was needed, Quinn instantly found her way to the back for the lack causing Maddox to whip his head around to see what was happening. Quinn had hoped he hadn't noticed her swollen face as people began to block her from his view.

If Maddox hadn't yelled out that they were breaking soon she would've just walked with Jo and went back home but instead she found herself at a slow pace with Jo next to her.

As soon as she saw people breaking off into the grass to rest she pulls out the small tube of concealer and a round sponge for Jo to toy with. Jo pushes her out of sight from the rest of the group, behind a tree where she orders Quinn to sit.

Jo places herself in front of her on her knees, taking the makeup and dabbing it over her sweating cheek. Jo purses her lips as she tries her best not to put too much pressure on her cheek as she dabs the sponge along the areas where the bruise was starting to show through.

"I know you wanted to see Maddox today but if you didn't want him to see your bruise you should've waited until it went away," Jo scolds, dabbing away at the bruise.

Quinn rolls her eyes. It was never in her intent to see Maddox, she just wanted to return to The Joggernauts as always so no one would get deterred and catch drift that she was thinking of America's sweetheart constantly.

However, the slight mention of Maddox's name gave her the same feeling that she had felt with Steve earlier. Just less amplified.

"Are we hiding now?" a voice questions the two friends. Jo freezes and drops the concealer in the grass beside Quinn, while Quinn lazily looks up at Maddox.

His cocky smile seems to dissipate after resting his eyes on Quinn's puffy jawline, a streak of purple shining through. "What happened?" his voice is the most panicked Quinn has heard so far.

His thumb strokes against her cheek, wiping away the fresh layer of concealer, revealing a patch of the vibrant bruise that laid on her face. His eyes grow concerned as he inspects the injury.

Quinn clears her throat, before answering. "I fell," she lies, her voice cracking in the process. Maddox furrows his brows as he drops her chin and sits in front of her with Jo.

"You fell? Are you sure you're just not covering for Jo hitting you?" he teases, Jo smacks him in the ribs jokingly. "See? She's ruthless. I bet she gave you that shiner as payback for Josh," he further explains causing both Quinn and Jo to roll their eyes.

"Well, if the group didn't leave without me I wouldn't have gotten this bad boy trying to catch up," Quinn's lies are starting to become more effortless as she goes along. Maybe she could be an agent with how believable this was sounding.

"I'm sorry," Maddox states, placing his hand on his chest to convey how empathetic he was being. "Let me repay you by taking you on a proper date," his cocky smile returning.

Beside him, Jo sucks in a deep breath while smiling widely between the two. "Damn that was smooth," she huffs out with an over-excited sigh.

Quinn's brain wasn't putting the two together. Did he just ask her on a second date after the first went horribly? Was she willing to give him a second shot after he insulted Steve? Did he deserve one?

Yet, at the same time she had a tender spot for his high confidence, how sauve he had been about the situation. Her eyes dart to Jo for a split second just to look at her excited smile.

"You want to what?" Quinn repeats for clarification, making Maddox chuckle nervously. "We don't have to if you don't want to. I know it's stupid to ask, I made you mad the last time we went on a date. I just figured I'd try to make it up to you," he explains, scratching the back of his neck nervously.

Her eyes dart to Jo once again pleading for advice. Jo nods her head softly, barely noticeable to the untrained eye. Even though she was more than willing to put herself out there she still felt she couldn't be distracted by romance.

Yet, there was something genuine she could feel inside of Maddox that made her want more. "Of course, I would love to," she can still feel the pain in her jaw radiating pain, reminding her that she wasn't in perfect condition to go on a date.

"Next week. I should be healed up by then," she suggests. The rhythm of her heart speeds up as she sees him crack a genuine smile, one of the rarest smiles she's seen him give her. "Next week," he promises with a head nod.


	18. CHAPTER XVIII

**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN**

**(** TO BINGE OR NOT TO BINGE** )**

**THE MICROWAVE IS beeping,** alerting everyone that it was done heating. The smell of popcorn wafted throughout the loft, making it smell of butter. It was enough to make Rudolph drool on the wooden floor. "Hey!" Jo scolds the golden retriever as she comes out of the hallway towards the kitchen, throwing on an over-sized bomber jacket, her duffel bag slung over her shoulder. "We don't beg," she coos the command, ruffling the fur on the top of his head.

Quinn shuffles her way through the kitchen, headphones placed over her ears as she dances to the song playing over the speakers. She grabs a bowl from the cupboard and takes out the popcorn from the microwave, hissing at the hot steam that hits her fingers as she dumps it into the bowl.

She would never be thankful that she got hit in the face a few days ago but, it did come with certain perks like not being able to attend work until it was fully healed - a stipulation that Fury had to address since Steve and her lessons had to be discreet. The music in her headphones disappeared as Jo slid the headphones off her ears and around her neck.

"Did you hear me?" She questions her roommate. Quinn shoves a handful of popcorn in her mouth, shaking her head, causing Jo to roll her eyes. "I'm headed out to Josh's. Are you going to be okay?" Quinn groans as she chews, nodding her head, a new form of communication that they've grown accustomed to. No one had time to chew fast or answer with a mouthful of food.

She sticks the bowl of popcorn out in front of Jo to offer some. "No thanks, I'm on a diet," Jo declines, making Quinn furrows her brows. "What diet won't allow you to eat popcorn? Each kernel is like one calorie," she questions after swallowing the bite of popcorn. "The diet that doesn't let me eat popcorn, duh," Jo huffs out her voice dripping in sarcasm.

Quinn rolls her eyes. "So what are your plans for tonight?" Jo questions her, earning a shoulder shrug in return. "Just watching movies,"

"Alone?" Jo inclines, raising a brow for measure. Quinn's lips press into a small smile as she tries to force herself to have a straight face. She fails. She just didn't want Jo to stick around and make him feel like a celebrity, Lord knows that's what she'd do.

"With Shmaptain Shamerica," Quinn mumbles out, swaying from side to side as she places one kernel in her mouth while watching Jo make the connection.

"I knew it," Jo says with a confident smirk - as if she's found out a huge secret. "What are you watching? Documentaries?"

"Star Wars," Quinn shrugs, earning an annoyed expression from Jo. She didn't feel like lying to her about little things like what she was going to be watching, she didn't mind being judged for indulging in convincing Steve to watch the intergalactic battle saga.

"Doesn't sound like a history lesson," Jo notes, gripping her keys in her hand.

"Star Wars shaped a generation, it's a classic and it's referenced a lot. So in a way, it's a history lesson," Quinn counters with a smirk, forcing Jo to roll her eyes.

"Prequels or originals?"

"Originals first, then the prequels to show him where they went wrong,"

"Are you going to wear your slave Leia outfit?" she asks with an eyebrow wiggle. Quinn huffs out a sigh of frustration as her roommate laughs at her uncomfortableness. Even with Jo implying that she had feelings for Steve made her heart start aching as if it was actually yearning for Steve's attention. No matter how good looking he was to her, she couldn't let it get to her. He was far out of her league.

"You wish," she replies, shoving more popcorn in her mouth to avoid talking to her even further. A few drop to the floor where Rudolph had been patiently waiting for her to drop some. Both of the roommates look down at the retriever and then to each other, Jo has a slightly irritated expression. "He shouldn't eat people food,"

"He's a dog, and it's one kernel of popcorn. His heart won't explode," Quinn counters, just as Rudolph looks back up at them for more food. Jo shakes her head, living with Quinn made her a little stressed but it was something she had become accustomed to. Her stubbornness had rubbed off on her as well, making each argument a challenge between the two.

Instead of sticking around to bicker with her, Jo pet Rudolph on the head and rounds off towards the door. "I'll be back in the morning, some of us have work," Jo reminds her.

It's a bit of a slap to the face but Quinn had gone from being absent for most of the day to being home constantly, loitering around in the kitchen and on the couch. It was like she had given up on trying. She narrows her eyes at Jo as she places another handful of popcorn in her mouth. Jo was one to talk about being an adult, she would miss out on work religiously if she had a long night out partying.

It hadn't been until recently where she stopped and that was only because she had a boyfriend. Guarantee that if he wasn't around she'd be out at a bar by now. She decides not to state any of this as she watches Jo put her shoes on. "See you tomorrow," Quinn bids as Jo opens the door to leave. Jo gives her a quick wave and heads out of the loft. As soon as she out of earshot she looks down at Rudolph and drops a few more pieces of popcorn on the ground for him. "Your mom can be such an ass,"

It isn't until a couple of hours later and another whole bowl of popcorn when Steve shows up, sending Quinn into a slight panic as he knocks on the door. It was something she's never felt before when Steve had come to visit her in the past. She never felt anxious or nervous but after the last encounter, something had burrowed its way into her chest making her feel somewhat excited whenever he was around.

She curses herself for not doing any makeup but the bruise on her face protested anything covering it. It was just a beacon of how she got her ass handed to her. She tries her best to place and stray strands of her locks into her ponytail while wiping any popcorn crumbs off of her shirt. She looks to Rudolph who is patiently waiting by the door, tail wagging and whining at the guest behind the door.

She only catches his attention when she crosses over towards the door, her arms out from her sides as she twirls, wanting an inspection from the dog as if he could tell her what was wrong. She huffs out a sigh as he returns his attention back on the door. _You can do this,_ she reminds herself. It's just some stupid crush, it'll go away in a couple of days,

She places her hand on the cool golden knob as she sucks in a deep breath, waiting for the right amount of courage to strike her until she can open the door. When she does she's not disappointed. Steve stands in the hallway, grey t-shirt on with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s emblem embedded on the sides of his sleeves, a black baseball cap placed upon his head. He gives her a tight-lipped smile as he crinkles a bag of chips in his hands, drawing her attention away from him for just a moment.

"Hey," she breathes out, leaning on the door frame. "Hey," he greets back. There seems to be a mutual nervousness between the two, but neither can tell.

Rudolph's tail whips from side to side within the confines of the loft, he whines angrily as Quinn's leg prevents him from exiting the loft to jump on Steve. The whine pulls Quinn's attention back to reality, she opens the door wider to invite him in.

Her hand instinctively hooks on to Rudolph's collar, holding him back from jumping as Steve enters. He laughs a little as he crosses his way into the kitchen to drop off the chips on the surface of the island. He then turns his attention back to Quinn and Rudolph as he patiently waits, whining, for Steve to come over and pet him.

"Let him go," he instructs Quinn who gives him an odd look. He nods his head, indicating it's okay for her to let go of Rudolph. Her hands release their tight grip on the leather collar that held the retriever back, she watches as he bolts over to him. Steve braces himself and pats his chest for Rudolph.

The dog jumps up into the air, just in time for Steve to clutch him in his arms. Quinn stares at the two as Steve begins cooing at Rudolph, it's something she's never seen before. Quinn could never pick up Rudolph that easily, Steve is gallivanting around with him in his arms like he weighed nothing. She can't help but avert her eyes from his arms as she feels heat boil in her cheeks. She now hated that shirt on him.

"So what's the plan?" Steve asks, placing Rudolph down, perking Quinn's attention. Quinn makes her way over to the coffee table to pluck out a thick DVD case from the center of it. "We're watching the best movie franchise that ever existed. Steve squints his eyes to read the cover of the movie. "Star Wars?" he reads off with a questioning tone.

Quinn nods her head as she crosses the room towards the kitchen where he stood. She plucks the chip dip from the fridge before opening the chips he had brought over. "It's an interesting movie series, I don't think they thought it was going to be as popular as it is," she informs him, pushing forward the bowl of popcorn in exchange for the chips.

"Can I get you anything to drink?" she offers as she heads towards the fridge once again, opening it up. "We have water, Coca-Cola, Diet Coca-Cola, beer-"

"I can't have beer," Steve speaks up earning a quizzical look from Quinn. "The serum sped up my metabolism so whatever goes in just gets watered down. Beer is just like gross tasting water,"

"That sucks," Quinn replies, leaning out of the fridge after noting how it's starting to hurt her knees. "So you've never been drunk before?" she questions, placing a water bottle in his hands as she watches a small smile build on his face. "Never said that," Steve quips as he remembers the only time he got drunk before the serum.

"Well, in all honesty, I can figure that you can still get drunk even with your high metabolism. You'd just have to drink a lot, like maybe twenty beers or a whole pint of _that_," Quinn points over to a stout bottle of patron. Steve notes that half of it is gone.

"We call it forget-about-it alcohol. A few shots of this and you'll be blacked out before the nights end," she says with a fraud smile, tapping on the clear glass of the bottle. "You drink this stuff?" Steve questions, his voice fills with concern as he looks at the proof on the side of the bottle. Quinn shrugs her shoulders.

"We put it in margaritas, sometimes Jo will do a shot if she brings over friends," she specifies as she plucks the tequila from his hands and places it back down on the counter. "But you don't drink it all the time, right?" he continues to ask, drawing an exasperated sigh from Quinn.

"Are you suggesting I'm an alcoholic?"

"No, I just wanted to know. Just in case-"

"I was an alcoholic?"

Steve bites down on his bottom lip as he tries not to admit that she was right. He only worried for her being but the coldness in her tone suggests that he struck a nerve. "You-" Quinn let's out a frustrated sigh as she buries her face into her shoulder for a moment, trying to hide the fact that her eyes were swelling up with tears. She tries to convince herself that Steve was just being courteous and concerned about her, she would be too. But something didn't sit right with her.

"You do remember how my brother passed right?"

It hits him like a freight train. He had forgotten about that factor as he remembers how he died. He kicks himself for bringing this up. "Quinn, I am sorry," he whispers out an apology but she quickly shakes it off. The tears in her eyes have disappeared but the hurt still lingers in them making him feel guilty.

"It's okay, let's just get started on these movies since they're a little long," she suggests with a fraud smile. He tries to apologize once again but Quinn has already turned her shoulder to him, quickly exiting towards the couch. He sighs as he twists the water bottle in his hands, grabbing a hold of the chips and popcorn she had left behind in favor of escaping. Even though Quinn praised the movie he wasn't going to be able to concentrate.

_**~ BOOK ONE: WINTER SOLDIER ~**_

** THE SOFT LULL of symphony music startles** Steve awake. His senses are groggy as he takes a look around at his surroundings. The television in front of him had the menu screen on from Return of the Jedi playing its classical music score. Rudolph's head remains in his lap, snoring softly. He tries to turn his head to his right but he's taken back by the fluffy feeling of hair against his jawline.

He peers down to see Quinn resting her head against his chest, her hand coming up right beside her cheek to rest on it comfortably. He smiles, nestling his head against hers once again wondering how they ended up in this position and if he could fall back asleep somehow. Of course, he couldn't. He doesn't need to look towards the clock to realize that it's late, later than what he was supposed to stay for.

He retracts his arm which was laying behind Quinn as he stretches his arms over his head, causing Quinn to groan sleepily from the sudden movement. His hand instinctively rests on the top of her head, smoothing down her hair to get her relaxed once again.

Slowly, he nudges Rudolph off his lap before taking his free arm and placing in underneath Quinn's knees. He lifts her up within his arms, causing her to groan uncomfortably as she continues to sleep. He paces his way into her room, which is only illuminated by the moonlight. He's thankful that she has a window in her room, otherwise, he'd be lost in the complete darkness trying to find her bed.

He places her down gently against the plush pillow, before covering her up with the thick comforter. She hums as she's tucked in from Steve. Once again, he smooths her hair away from her face, smiling down at her relaxed features. "Thanks...mom..." she hums out, forcing Steve's smile to fade as he retracts his hand. He had forgotten that he had upset her earlier. He wouldn't be able to forgive himself for that.

Rudolph's body jumps into the bed, he watches as he circles and plants his body against hers, his head resting against the crook in her leg, his eyes resting on Steve as he heads towards the door. Steve smiles at the dog and his sleeping friend. "Keep an eye on her," he whispers out the instruction to the dog who wags his tail in agreement. He looks at Quinn once again, feeling a tremendous amount of guilt, before leaving. He wouldn't blame her if she never spoke to him again.

* * *

A/N: Enjoy the fluff because it's not going to be around much longer :)


	19. CHAPTER XVIX

**CHAPTER NINETEEN**

**(** TINDER **)**

**QUINN**** HAS TAKEN notes from Steve** with trying to blend into the crowd as she walks amongst the crowd of agents that walk along the concrete floor of sub-level eight. Black baseball cap hiding her face as she trains her eyes to look at the ground, only revealing her eyes every once in a while to see how far away she was from the gymnasium.

It had been almost a week since her last training session with Blair - Agent Norris. She would've stayed at home had she not gotten a text from the same mysterious number telling her to come in for another lesson. The bruise on her cheek has started to reduce in size significantly, it's about the size of a quarter now, smack dab in the middle of her cheek.

She nods her head a few times at agents who lock eyes with her, doing the same. She huffs out a sigh as she approaches the gymnasium where she last encountered Blair. She touches her bruised cheek as she hears the thumping of a spare coming from behind the doors. She sucks in a deep breath, dropping her hand from her cheek and pushing through the doors.

Unlike last time, Blair isn't alone in the gymnasium, nor does she have the black boxing gloves on as she did last time. She's sparring with another agent, someone who Quinn doesn't recognize to be any of the agents Fury instructed her to follow and abide by.

The agent towers over Blair, giving him an advantage, his jawline is sharp and his hair is dark. He looks like he can inflict damage upon her even if he were to just look at her.

She cautiously enters the gymnasium to get a better look at the spar as it progresses into further violence. In a blink of an eye Blair sweeps at the agents' feet, causing him to fall on his back with a loud thud, she stands above him victoriously with one foot planted on his chest.

Her eyes shoot up to see Quinn's figure idly standing nearby, a fragment of a smile placed on her face but it's hard to see. "Ah, rookie," Blair greets, throwing her foot off the agent's chest to pace towards her.

Quinn gives her a half attempt at a wave with a cracked smile before Blair turns her face to examine her bruise with curious eyes. She hums as she presses her thumb down on the purple mark, causing her trainee to hiss in pain. This makes Blair smirk.

"Looks like I didn't fracture your jaw after all," she hums out in an amused tone as she drops Quinn's face from her hands. "Sure felt like it," Quinn replies, rubbing the pain away from her bruise where Blair had irritated it.

Her eyes soon connect with the new agent as he approaches Blair's side, eyes guarded as gives her a once over. She quickly averts her gaze from his, hoping to fall off his radar but Blair places a hand on his shoulder to acknowledge him.

"This is Agent Ward, you may have heard that he's on a specially sanctioned team hand-picked by a high ranking S.O. but he won't spill the beans as to who it is,"

"It's not important," he responds icily, his eyes not leaving Quinn. She shifts awkwardly under his gaze. "Besides, I don't feel exactly comfortable releasing knowledge to someone who's not even a level one agent," he adds crossing his arms. "What makes you so special?"

Quinn purses her lips together, obviously he hadn't been informed of the training she was going through, nor was she technically allowed to tell him. She looks up at Blair with a pleading look, begging for help.

Thankfully she picks up on this and taps Agent Ward's arm, giving him a reassuring look to have him ease up. "Don't worry about Grant, he just thinks he's a hotshot because he's a level seven," she tries to assure Quinn, offending Agent Ward in the process of doing so.

"Agent Ward is here to help us with learning how to get out of any chokeholds. He's here because he's taller than me, he's bigger than me, and he's more threatening than me when it comes to choking someone,"

Somehow this doesn't settle the uneasiness residing in her stomach about Agent Ward. Perhaps it was the way he made her feel unwelcome or how distant he had acted towards her but she felt as though there was something deeper within that made her feel uncomfortable around him.

The thought of him alone made her feel uncomfortable but the thought of him putting his hands around her throat just for an exercise seemed to terrify her. Now she was wishing that Steve were here to witness her training, just in case something bad were to happen.

Like Agent Ward snapping her neck by accident. As much as she didn't trust him she obliges by Blair's dictation and steps onto the blue padded floor to face him.

"We're going to do a few exercises where if you're ever in a situation where your attacker has a stranglehold on you, you can potentially escape," Blair begins instructing. "We'll start with the simple standing, two hands around the neck, choke. Agent Ward whenever you're ready - and goes easy on her, she's delicate,"

Quinn watches with cautious eyes as Agent Ward cracks his shoulder and the latches his hands around her neck. It sends her into a panic at first, but then she realizes that he's not applying any pressure anywhere.

He had done what Agent Norris had asked of him. "Show me how you'd get out," Blair instructs, pacing in between her and Agent Ward. Quinn grabs on to Agent Ward's forearms and attempts to pay his hands off of her neck, earning hums of disapproval from him with each time she tries to pry him off her. It was starting to get annoying.

After a huff of aggravation, Quinn let's go of his arms and shrugs her shoulders in defeat. "You're battling me, strength for strength," Agent Ward speaks up, catching her attention.

"I'm trying to apply pressure inwards on your neck, while you're trying to apply pressure outwards on my arms. You're going to get tired because you're exerting more force and guess who's going to win," Agent Ward informs her with a nonchalant tone at the end.

"Well, can't I just go for the -" Quinn makes a lame attempt to jut her knee up towards Agent Ward's groin. "That's a good way to get choked a lot faster," he hums out a warning causing Quinn to look at him with wide, panicked eyes.

"He's right," she hears Blair murmur from beside them. "If your opponent has balls and you don't manage to inflict damage then you're only going to piss them off more,"

"Or you miss and you only have one second of oxygen left and you wasted it," Agent Ward adds. "Put your hands on my neck," Quinn follows the order and attempts to wrap her fingers around Agent Ward's neck, she can barely cover the circumference of it.

Just as she manages to place her fingers around his neck, he ducks and backs away. Quinn looks at him in question only to receive a blank face with a hint of disappointment.

"See what he did?" Blair beckons her attention, patting her arm. "He hit your weak point and was able to break free,"

Agent Ward steps in front of Quinn once again, Blair instructs her to try to place her hands on his neck once again. As she does, she orders her to pause. "Agent Ward will tell you how he got out," she informs her, hearing a grunt come from Agent Ward.

"Most people try to back out of a stranglehold, which is not what you want to do," he says as he begins pulling up on her hands with his neck. She can feel this is more sturdy than when he bowed out from before.

"You're going to want to, tuck your neck in as much as you can and bow out towards the thumbs because they're going to be the weakest point. Make sure your dominant leg is planted firmly behind you and lean on it for force when you bow out," he shows an example of this, slapping on his dominant leg to emphasize that this is the main thing to focus on.

Once again her thumbs are unable to hold him back as much as she tries. Unexpectedly, his hands wrap around her neck easily making her tense. She peers at him uneasily as he nods his head, waiting for her to test it out.

She bows out several times perfectly, a few times she accidentally hits his wrist causing his hands to grip her neck tighter and call out the word, "dead" to signify she'd be dead by now.

Every time the word "dead" was mentioned it made her roll her eyes and look to Blair who seemed to be taking a load off as she sat on a bench and carefully watched the two with a coy smirk.

The next strategy that Agent Ward announces he's going to teach her is how to get out of a chokehold. She turns her attention to Blair to see if this is okay with her but as she turns she feels Agent Ward's arm is coiling itself around her neck, making her feel uneasy once again as the flow of oxygen intake is harder to do now.

"Show me what you'd do," he demands. Her hands instantly claw up at his arm as she tries to yank it away from her neck. She tries several times, each time Agent Ward demands that she try harder until he's had enough.

On the last try, he begins to drag her away, leaving her feet to clamor and struggle to fight against the sudden movement. He releases her by dropping her down on her rear.

"Dead," he calls out, returning to his original position in the front of the gym. Quinn closes her eyes on defeat as she hears Blair begin chuckling from the front of the gym.

She wasn't cut out for this. She didn't like being punched or strangled at each lesson. She misses the days where a training drill just meant running or perhaps going to the shooting range. She wasn't used to this kind of training.

Blair calls for Quinn's attention, forcing her to open her eyes at the instructor who was now standing beside Agent Ward who stood almost a foot taller than her. "Watch and learn," Blair beckons with a smirk.

_**~BOOK ONE: WINTER SOLDIER~**_

**THE SORENESS OF her neck ached**, causing her throat to become dry. She rubs the sides of her neck, soothing the throbbing pain that her training had given her.

She was thankful that Agent Ward hadn't pressed down hard enough to create any new bruises that she would have to hide. She didn't know if she could hide any from Jo if the collar of her shirt brushed up against it. Then her cover would be blown.

Thankfully it wasn't blown quite yet, although she had a small fear that Jo would soon discover that she worked for S.H.I.E.L.D.

Her phone vibrates against the wood of her dresser, startling her from looking at her neck in the mirror. She paces over to see Steve's name pop up from a text message.

He had gotten a lot better at texting but, he could never hold an actual conversation. Usually, his texts meant he couldn't make it to a lesson or he was on his way to her and occasionally he'd ask her what she wanted to eat.

The text just read that he was just getting to the loft. She must've been out of it, usually, she can hear the motorcycle's engine from within.

She shuffles her way out from her room, peeking in on Jo in the process. Half of her hair is twisted into a top knot while half of it dangles off her shoulders curled. She catches Quinn's quick glance and gives her a wink as she continues to primp herself for her date.

Quinn scoffs as she makes her way up towards the living room to catch Steve as he approaches the front door. Hesitation runs through her veins as nears the door where he's tapping at. She rubs at her neck once more before slightly opening the door for him to get through, Rudolph already clamoring to get to him.

His chuckle fills the loft with warmth, making it seem fuller than usual, something that had been absent for a while now in Quinn's life. The feeling of being surrounded by the people she cared for, knowing they felt the same about her.

Well, at least she knew that's how Jo felt, Steve was a little bit more unpredictable with how he felt towards her.

Even though they purely started off as just acquaintances they grew a rather fast friendship given how much time they had spent together alone.

By now, any girl would have tried to pull a move on him but, she remained off on the sidelines with Romanoff and Norris, rooting for him to get a date with someone. Although, she never personally expressed it as much as they did.

Steve's small, apathetic smile makes her heart clench a bit in her chest as she turns to gaze at him after he had picked up the retriever. "What's the plan for tonight, Miss Cruise?" he questions just as Jo calls for help from her.

Quinn presses her lips into a firm line as she pauses for a moment to hear Jo's command asking him to hold on for a moment as 'duty calls'.

He finds himself alone for a moment, listening to Quinn and Jo bicker from the other room about the zipper of a dress and if Jo looked good enough for her date tonight. He turns on his heel to mosey his way over to the couch, patting Rudolph's head in the process.

This caused the dogs tail to thump against the hardwood floor. Steve places himself on the couch, leaning forward to pet Rudolph more. As he leans forward he feels something hard from underneath where he's sitting.

He reaches down to pull out Quinn's phone, the screen still illuminated. She hadn't locked it. He narrows his eyes in confusion as he looks at what Quinn is doing on her phone.

He lets out a soft hum as he looks at the phone screen with a man displayed in the center of it, smiling as he appeared to be flexing with a wink. He quizzically taps the green checkmark underneath the photo and it instantly went away to reveal another man.

Realizing his mistake, he tosses the phone down and places his hands in his pocket as he listened to the soft padding of Quinn's footsteps draws near. "So we could continue to watch _Lost_ or we can watch _Forrest Gump_ which is a really deep movie," Quinn stops abruptly as she sees Steve's lips pressed in a cold hard line, his face looks to be in a confused train of thought.

"What's wrong?" She questions. He taps his foot as he looks up at her, concern spreading across her face. He waits in silence for a moment as he thinks of the best way to approach what he saw on the phone, or at least come up with a good cover-up that he wasn't on her phone. He pushes the option of lying away, it wasn't technically in his morals.

He glances up at her blue eyes once again before sighing as he pulls out her phone, displaying a man with a red cross and a green checkmark under it. "What is _Tinder_?" He blurts out catching her off guard.

Quinn's breath hitches in her throat as she saw her phone screen displayed with a half-naked man. She was torn between shocked and irritated. Shocked that he actually wanted to know what Tinder was and that she was going to have to explain it to him but irritated that he went through her phone. "Oh bless it..." She whispers out under her breath.

As the question left Steve's mouth it drew the attention of Jo who laughs cold-heartedly from her room, loud enough so the pair could hear. "I saw the thing pop up on the screen, and Nat and Blair said I should start using it...I was curious...and your phone wasn't locked," He tries to explain, to which Quinn sticks her index finger up to indicate to give her a moment as she compiles the best answer to give to him.

She cringes. It was like trying to explain this to her own grandfather. She sucks in a deep breath before approaching him and plucking her phone out of his hand. "_Tinder_ is a dating application on your phone where it will try to match you up with the right person and you can go on dates and stuff like that," She waves her hand as a gesture as it being no big deal.

She felt a surge of confidence. She thought she had explained it fairly well. "It's primarily used for sex though!" Jo shouts from her room, instantly deflating Quinn's confidence. She didn't want to give him the wrong idea, especially if he wanted to use it.

"No!" She shouts abruptly, startling them both by how loud and defensive her voice had gotten. She clears her throat to start over. She looks into his eyes that were as wide and curious as a puppy's. "I mean, no, it doesn't have to be used for sex. It's not intended for that," She covers up, just as Jo had marched out of her room wearing a cocktail dress with matching black pumps.

"But a lot of people use it for one night stands," Jo informs him, gaining more of his attention than Quinn was. "It wasn't designed-" Her roommate tries to argue but she blatantly ignores her. "I've had quite a few matches and each have ended up in disaster," Jo continues, eluding to some crude visuals.

Quinn lightly nudges Jo in the shoulder for being too honest with Steve who was basically a child when it came to new aged dating. She mouths the words, "What is wrong with you?" before looking over towards Steve once again who was looking back and forth between the two women. Suddenly Quinn's face felt hot with embarrassment. She must've looked like crap compared to Jo, who was getting ready for a night out while she was in her pajamas ready for movie night.

She shook her head and crosses the living room to sit next to him on the couch. She places a firm and reassuring hand in his shoulder as a way to comfort him. "Yeah, so, maybe people use it more for hookups. But that's not for its intended purpose. You can go on it and try to find the one, Cap. No one is stopping you or pressuring you into having...relations...the first date," She encourages, earning a small smile in return.

Something felt weird in her chest as if it were going to burst open with butterflies. She quickly suppressed the feeling with doubt. "Except maybe your date," Jo adds on.

Quinn rolls her eyes and leans her head back on the couch to glare at her roommate who was standing in the kitchen, shoving Reese Pieces in her mouth. "Jo you are _not_ helping," She hisses out annoyed. Jo nonchalantly shrugs her shoulders before turning her attention to answer her buzzing phone. Quinn turns back around and reached for the remote, pulling up the movie playlist she had preset for them called_** "Steve's Must Watch".**_

"What happened to old fashion dating?" Steve asks.

She felt a hot blush creep up on her cheeks. "You mean where you know someone and you end up liking them and you take them on a date? That still exists. It's the preferred method of finding _'the one'_," She explains, haphazardly clicking between the two movie titles they were going to watch, trying to take her mind off the fact she was possibly showing she was blushing.

"Like how Quinn met Maddox while being a part of that stupid running group," Jo playfully urges, knowing it would annoy Quinn. It does. Thoroughly. Her hand balls up into a tight fist before letting out a harsh sigh. "And now they're going on a second date," she adds, causing Quinn to throw her a glare as she heads towards the door. Out of the corner of her eye she can see Steve's jaw clench at the mention of her date. Just like that, Quinn's moment of slight romantic interest disappears.

"But she's rusty on dating because she never used her _Tinder_," Jo banters, jingling her keys in the process. "I'll be back at two," She informs her roommate. Quinn frowns at her remark. She didn't need Steve thinking she was out of her game. "I don't like online dating and I fail to see how I have a date fits in here!" She shouts after Jo who was walking out the door.

Quinn let's out a huff of air in frustration as she flips on _Forrest Gump_. She didn't like to talk about her relationships to people especially when she didn't know where she stood with Steve. Were they friends? Did he have feelings for her? He must've if he tried to pull a move on her. Although he has apologized for it since then. Perhaps it was a mistake.

As the movie began it's slow monotonous, peaceful music, she glances over at him from the corner of her eye. She could feel her cheeks start to heat up just by the sight of him. He may have not felt anything towards her but it was definite to her that she was starting to develop unwanted feelings towards him.

* * *

**A/N: Hello lovelies, s****tay tuned for chapter twenty next Friday because that's going to bring out Protective!Steve. Or i****f you wanted to get ahead and read chapter twenty it's up on Wattpad :)**


	20. CHAPTER XX

**CHAPTER TWENTY**

**( **GET LOST **)**

**THE SLOW ****AMBIENT**** music of the** restaurant didn't seem to steady her nerves as much as she wanted them to. Her foot taps nervously against the ground under the cloth tabletop, as she looks towards her phone at the time.

Her heart begins to sink in her chest as she realizes that Maddox is twenty minutes late to their date. He hadn't sent her a single text or even bothered to call her. She had never been stood up before.

Her fingers absentmindedly start to play with the smooth fabric of her peach-colored dress that Jo has picked out for her, insisting that it fit nicely with her waistline.

She shoves another piece of oil-soaked bread in her mouth as the server came over to the table to place more water in her glass. She had only ordered one glass of white wine but she was ready for hard alcohol if Maddox wasn't going to show.

Especially with how busy this restaurant was at the moment. She could see people waiting to sit down in the lobby. She made sure to avert her gaze as soon as an older man made eye contact with her from the waiting area, she was sure the glare wasn't meant for her and that it was out of hunger.

She checks her phone once again out of habit to see if Maddox had contacted her at all. Nothing. Just a text from Jo telling her to be patient. As she clicks on the messages app on her phone she notices that she hadn't texted Steve in a couple of days, to be fair, she hadn't really spoken to him since he watched Forrest Gump at the loft.

It happened to be the night she realized she had feelings for him starting to pinprick their way out. She couldn't have feelings for him. She made a promise to her mother.

Maddox was different, he was a cocky guy, with a normal job, and a nice face. There was no target on his head, unlike Steve. No threat of danger for her or those closest to her if she went on dates with Maddox.

Although, that's what it seemed she was training for, the inevitability of getting attacked as people recognized her to be with Steve (as friends). She knew Steve had plenty of friends, did they all have the same training as she did or were they all just agents and didn't need it?

She picks at the bread once again as her heart begins to sink lower and lower into her chest. Maddox was now thirty minutes late.

As she picks up her phone her fingers don't go to Jo as she'd like, they automatically go to Steve's name and press of the messages. The last one she had sent was a couple of days ago letting him know she had a date and couldn't have him over for lessons.

She had gotten no response back just like Maddox. For some reason this made her chest ache with hurt from feeling abandoned by her date and not hearing from her friend.

It takes a lot of strength to not let a sob rip through her chest. She lets out a deep breath and inhales one as well, she couldn't cry in public, she couldn't show weakness to strangers.

She looks at the cursor on her phone, blinking in and out of existence as it idles in the chatbox for Steve. She picks up the phone and absentmindedly begins typing up on the keyboard, she hesitates as her thumbs hover over the send button, reading the text once again.

She shakes her head from side to side. She couldn't let him know she was hurting right now, especially since she blew him off for this date. However, her thumb accidentally hits the send button, causing her to have a moment of panic and dread flow through her.

Her wide eyes scan through the message that she had sent him. Although it was short and simple she felt as though it displayed that she wasn't able to withhold any type of friendship or relationship. Even though it's not true - whenever she got into a panicked mindset her thoughts seem to run to the extremes.

So even though she just told Steve that Maddox was a no-show and asked to meet back at her place for a lesson; she figures he'll see it as a sign that no one likes her and he shouldn't either (even though deep down she knows that's not true).

She runs a hand down her face in frustration as she tries to hide the tears that are starting to pool up in her eyes. She had been ditched by someone she truly cared about and had even accepted his flaws of being arrogant and cocky as just part of his nature.

She couldn't believe that she agreed to come to this date. Until a familiar voice greets her from across the way. She looks up to see Maddox limping behind a server as he is shown to his correct seat next to her. He passes her a bouquet of yellow roses as the server takes his drink order.

"I'm sorry, I'm late," he apologizes almost immediately after the server leaves. "Yeah?" Quinn's voice is on edge and harsh as she crosses her arms over her chest.

"Really, I have had the worst day. I pulled a muscle running, I didn't know what to wear and then I figured I would stop to get you flowers and then I didn't know which to get because I remember Jo saying you liked another flower that wasn't roses, so I went to three stores and none of them had them. So I went with red roses, then I thought _'How __cliché__ Maddox, get her something other than that'_ so in the end I got you yellow roses and that's why I'm late," he rambles out his excuse, causing Quinn to raise her brows at the far-fetched story.

She takes a long sip of her wine as she nods her head, taking in his rambling and what exactly good came out of the excuse. She peers at him as he gives her a wide smile. "You look beautiful," he compliments, trying to melt away the tension.

Quinn presses her lips into a firm line and hums in reply. Although she was angry with him, the compliment did make her cheeks burn. She had tried hard to look pretty only to have her date show up forty-five minutes late with friendship roses and a limp.

Instead of berating him like she wanted desperately to do she smiles lightly, hoping it could change her mood. "Thanks, Mads," her hand grips around his in the center of the table. "You do too." And just like that, she forgot what she was even mad about.

_**~BOOK ONE: WINTER SOLDIER~**_

** THE COOL NIGHT air whips around** the trees, rustling through the leaves around the complex. The sweet hum of crickets chirping through the tall grass was soothing to anyone's ears that night. There wasn't even a cloud in the sky.

Quinn's brows furrow in frustration as she walks beside Maddox. If it was a beautiful night then why was hers going so horrible?

She had been listening to Maddox drone on and on about The Joggernauts and about who's dating who, and who had tried to flirt with him throughout the time of being its instructor. It was something no one wanted to hear on a date.

She was practically clutching on to the arm of a gossipy high school girl which irritated her soul. His voice continues to ramble as she tries her best to stay interested in the conversation but it doesn't seem to be working as her mind drifts anywhere but the present.

Their first date had gone sour, and now the second date was going south as well. At least he hadn't insulted her friends yet. Yet. As they approach the door to her complex she drops his arm, letting her hand stretch from the discomfort.

Everything seems to be quiet, Jo's car isn't in its usual spot, although there is a blinding reflection coming from the area causing her eyes to squint involuntarily.

Maddox sucks in a deep breath as he turns to face her, a slight blush appearing on his cheeks. Whether the blush was from the sight of her or from the alcohol he consumed earlier she couldn't decipher but she took it as the latter.

For the first time since their date began, Maddox was silent. His eyes seemed to wander down to her lips before catching her gaze once again. A small smile appearing on his face as he stepped closer to her, closing the distance between them.

Her breath was caught in her throat as she gazes up at his eyes which were starting to droop shut. The last time she had been close to someone like this was with Steve, and he hadn't attempted to kiss her like Maddox was - he merely was just standing there awkwardly with her at the time.

She pushed Steve away for being close to her in general; could she even possibly let Maddox go in for the kill? The answer was a clear no as she nervously moves her head back to avoid clashing lips with her not-so-fantastic date.

Maddox pulls away with a confused look on his face while she bites down of her lip in an attempt to make an awkward smile. "Is there something wrong?" he questions, his voice sounding a bit on edge as he nervously begins tapping her bouquet of flowers against the top of his leg.

"Uh, yeah, you know," Quinn stammers awkwardly, her cheeks heating up in embarrassment. She had never had to be so direct with someone before.

"It's just...I'm not really into this whole thing. I mean tonight was okay, thanks for taking me out. But I'm not sure I can handle a relationship right now," she admits, cringing from the fact she had to reject Maddox.

She could never deny someone anything but, this had gone on for far too long. Even though he was good looking, he was still an arrogant, competitive, mess that pushes her to her limits each day (along with Edith).

She waits, staring at the ground for a moment as Maddox takes in her words. It isn't until she sees his hands move from a shrug that he displays that she can even look up at him. "That's fine," he says, his cocky grin appearing once again as he closes the distance once again. "It doesn't have to be a relationship, it could be -"

"A one night stand?" Quinn clarifies for him, taking a step back to avoid being closer to him. Maddox let's out a wry chuckle before placing his free hand in his pocket. "I was thinking it could be a little longer than that," he admits, nervously biting down on his lip. "Then when you're ready we can label it,"

"Maddox, I'm sorry, I can't," Quinn excuses herself, taking her keys out of her purse to open the door to the building. She pauses as she sees him frowning as if he were a toddler who got denied a cookie. She lets out a long sigh as she twists the doorknob open, jamming her foot in so it wouldn't close.

Her hand stretches out and grasps on to his arm in assurance, earning a questioning look from his deep green eyes. She takes a moment to memorize his features, copper hair, almond-shaped eyes, tanned skin, toned - it was the last she would see him pining after her. She attempts to lighten the mood by offering a small smile.

"You'll make someone happy one day," she says, opening the door to the building to enter. Before she can even get through, Maddox has his hand on the door frame preventing her from entering. She stumbles back a few steps, giving him a confused yet annoyed look - she just wants the date to end.

"Can you at least tell me what went wrong?" he pleads, his voice cracking in the process. Her heart seems to soften a little as she hears the crack, he's been chasing after her for months it felt like, he was sure to be heartbroken and she was the cause of it.

Her lips press into a thin firm line across her face. "Nothing went wrong. I'm just...not looking for a commitment right now, Maddox," she clarifies for him, trying to move past him towards the door once again but he, in turn, blocks it again.

She doesn't like where this was headed. She was glad she was put through that training now, even if she was rusty. If he was going to try anything, she'd be ready. "I just don't get it. Are you seeing someone or something? Because I can prove I'm better - look at me,"

"I'm not seeing anyone," she emphasizes while restraining herself from rolling her eyes. She didn't need to justify her reasoning and she had already told him before that she wasn't interested in anyone at the moment. "And I see you everyday Maddox, I know you're attractive, and trust me I've heard you all night long - to the point where I couldn't say anything," she counters.

"Is that what your problem is? I talk too much?"

"No, I just -"

"Then what is holding you back?" he pries, taking a step closer to her, which makes her take another two back from him. Her heart was pounding at how unpredictable he was acting, this wasn't the Maddox she knew. She furrows her brows once again. "I've already told you -"

"Hey!" A voice calls out, catching them both off guard - she basically jumps out of her skin. Her heartbeat steadies, her chest becomes relaxed as she watches Steve walking up from behind her on the sidewalk.

Maddox seems flabbergasted as he tries to utter out a response but all he can say is, "Cap...Cap'n".

This makes her smile, for once Maddox is speechless. "She said she's not interested. Respect that and leave her alone," he says coolly towards Maddox, his face holding a scowl.

She had never seen Steve upset like this before, it made her feel protected and safe yet at the same time incompetent. Maddox narrows his eyes as he glares between the two.

"I'm sorry, are you two together?" Maddox's voice is filled with judgment beyond comprehension. Quinn rolls her eyes at the assumption, crossing her arms across her chest as she gets ready to respond. However, she's beat to the punch.

"She's not seeing anyone. So, quit pestering and get lost," Steve speaks up, his voice now in full authority mode. She had only ever heard him talk in the tone on the news while conducting interviews with the Avengers a couple of years ago, even then it gave her chills.

Now hearing it in person, it made her want to melt on the spot. Maddox glares between the two for several more seconds, Quinn makes her way behind Steve as he widens his stance, placing his hands on his hips while returning the stare-off with Maddox.

After a few moments of challenging Steve, Maddox eventually withdraws and retreats towards his car with several grunts of frustration.

As Quinn watches him drive off she has a slight smile on her face before she turns to Steve. She purses her lips for a moment before she speaks up. "You didn't have to do that," she says softly, she's thankful that he was there for her.

"I don't like bullies," is all Steve says in response. No _'you're welcome'_, no _'what's wrong in your taste of __men'_. He didn't rub it in, which made Quinn even more relieved.

She gives him a pressed smile before she lets out a sigh of relief. "What are you doing here anyway? Are you spying on me?" she asks in a confused tone.

He quickly pulls out his phone from his back pocket and reveals the text that she had sent him earlier about her date not showing up. "I came over to see how your date went," his teases, his voice sounding light-hearted even though the situation she put him through was a bit intense.

"Oh yeah?" she exclaims with a perked brow and smirk. "And what if it had gone the way he wanted it?"

"I would've left," he says sheepishly, his cheeks showing a bit of pink as he thinks about Quinn and Maddox being together and witnessing if it happened. "I wouldn't have bothered you," he adds on, earning a soft chuckle from her.

"Since you're here, do you want to come on in?" she offers with a smile, admiring the slight blush on his face, even though it was hard to see at this time of night. Steve shifts his gaze from the ground to her eyes, giving her a pleased look with a small smile. "I thought you'd never ask,"


	21. CHAPTER XXI

**CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE**

**( **MADDOX GOES MAD **)**

**"****SERIOUSLY****?" ****JO'S**** VOICE is loud enough** to wake Quinn up from her deep sleep. There's a crick in her neck as she raises up from the couch where her head had been laying awkwardly. It takes her a moment to get her bearings as she opens her eyes, everything seems to be in a haze, but she notices the familiar shape of Steve's body also stretched across the couch at the opposite end.

"I'm going to start asking you for rent every time you sleepover," Jo threatens the super soldier who just groans in response as an apology. He must've fallen asleep during the movie from last night as well. Jo narrows her eyes at Quinn, who notices this and tries to bury her face with a throw pillow to avoid her.

"And you," Jo begins, stomping over to her side of the couch. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Enlighten me," Quinn's muffled voice challenges from underneath the pillow, causing Jo to furrow her brows in frustration. "It's seven, you're late for your jog,"

"I don't think I'm going-" Quinn begins to excuse herself but Steve quickly pipes in, his voice is gruff from the early morning. "Is this the group you run with every morning?" he questions, causing her to take the pillow off her face and look towards him.

He looks tired, his blonde hair was messy in the back from where his head was resting, his arms were across his chest. She didn't know where this was going and she didn't know if she'd like it. "Yes," she begrudgingly admits before Jo pipes in.

"Is that the one that your date from last night is in?" he clarifies. She narrows her eyes towards him, wondering what he was getting at. Was he going to try to make her go? "Yes but I don't think I'm going to - "

"You should," he insists, stretching his arms above his head as he slides his legs off the side of the couch, planting his feet firmly beneath him. "Because I'm going," he states in a matter-of-fact tone.

This causes Jo to perk a brow up in question at the declaration, then her eyes fall upon Quinn who's face is more shocked than hers. "Quinn," Jo calls for her attention, tearing her eyes away from the Avenger to look up at her. "What happened?"

Quinn nervously bites down on her bottom lip as she tries to think of a good way to explain what Maddox had done. Jo will inevitably feel disappointed that she wasn't the first to know about Maddox, that Steve was the first to know and the one who rescued her from him.

"Maddox didn't get what he wanted. Well, first he showed up forty-five minutes late which is why I contacted Steve - I knew you were with Josh and I didn't want to ruin your time with him," Quinn quickly tries to explain, watching Jo's face fill with frustration at first before it dissipates. "But then Maddox wanted more than what I did, he got huffy, and I'm lucky Steve was there when he was because I don't want to know what would have happened if he didn't," she says, looking at Steve and giving him a soft smile which he returns. It's enough to cause her heart rate to pick up.

"Do you think he would've hurt you?" Jo questions in a nurturing tone. Jo, the woman who would go out almost every night leaving Quinn to worry, was now being a worrisome mother. This was usually a conversation that she'd have with Jo about her dates. It was nice to see Jo worried like her, it was about time she repaid the favor.

"I'm not sure. Maddox is usually competitive and cocky. He can be bashful and respectful at times but last night was a different side that I haven't really seen," Quinn hesitates as she tries to shake the image of Maddox blocking her way into entering her building. She didn't know it then but she was terrified that he was going to try something.

In retrospect, she could've handled him with the lessons she's been learning but just the thought of Maddox trying to intimidate her into something she didn't want was enough to make her sick. "He has women pining after him, you know he does, we can't let them go after him," Jo announces, grabbing her tennis shoes from near the door. "My thoughts exactly," Steve agrees, placing his own shoes on his feet while Quinn looks confused between the two as they begin to get ready to confront Maddox.

Instead of joining, Quinn wraps the blanket that was haphazardly tossed aside by Steve across her body trying to avoid the situation completely, she had already been through enough with Maddox. Steve throws her a confused look which could easily be mistaken as judgmental as he watches her cocoon the blanket around her entire body, to wear only her face was sticking out.

Quinn defies his gaze by glaring at the two of them, adamant on sitting underneath the blanket while they went on their little mission. "Jo," Steve calls out to her roommate without breaking eye contact from Quinn, catching her attention.

Jo spins around to see Steve in the middle of a stare-off with Quinn, her face draining of any empathy she had for her roommate. "Oh, no-no-no," Jo tuts as she crosses the room to Quinn. She begins yanking on the large blanket the Quinn has wrapped herself in. "We are not doing this again. You can't just hide from him and let other people get assaulted by him. Other people don't have Captain America at their disposal. You have to be the bigger person," Jo grunts out as she strains to sweep the blanket off of Quinn.

Although Quinn can be reasonable at times, she can also be hellishly stubborn and closed off. An unfortunate trait she learned from her mother. Jo is almost done with ripping the blanket off Quinn when she notices that Steve is now beside Quinn, placing his hand over hers in a comforting manner as Quinn begins to blush.

"Please, I'll be right there with you," his voice is soft and encouraging. The way he sounded so honest, astounded Jo and forced her to stop yanking on the blanket. There was no point as Quinn's attention was captured in Steve's pleading eyes. Her lips press into a thin line before she narrows her eyes with determination burning in them.

She nods her head once before tossing the blanket off of herself and pads her way into the bedroom. Jo looks back at Steve amazed but he doesn't seem to be paying attention to her, his eyes have drifted towards Quinn's bedroom door, a lopsided smile forming on his lips.

Jo can't help but smile herself. There's no denying it, there was something happening between the two.

_**~ BOOK ONE: WINTER SOLDIER ~**_

** THERE'S AN UNRELENTING pit of anxiety **growing within Quinn's chest while walking towards The Joggernauts. She couldn't tell if it was from walking with Steve out in broad daylight when Fury had explicitly told them not to do (even though Steve insisted they were fine) or if it was the impending doom of a conversation she'd have to have with Maddox and the group explains why Captain America was joining them this session.

The only person who seemed to be enamored about the confrontation was Jo, who thrived on any drama, although Quinn couldn't blame her; if she was in the same position she'd want to see this too. However, even with the support of her two friends her hands still began to tremble at her sides from the nerves.

A part of her still liked Maddox in a way, they were competitive friends, he provided her with a challenge and fun banter each morning. Did she really want to throw that away? It's not like she had a choice in the matter as she watches Steve's brow furrow as he sets his gaze upon Maddox. The group had finally come to their regularly scheduled stop, and even though they were joining late, Quinn felt an urgency to leave.

She had to compose herself even though each and every single nerve in her body told her to run from the situation, that it was going to be awkward and tense, and just cause repercussions with Fury that she didn't want to happen. She definitely didn't want to go toe to toe with him, however, she knew Steve felt differently towards the director of S.H.I. .

He must've viewed him as how Quinn viewed Edith - overbearing, harassing, and judgmental; but Quinn wouldn't intentionally piss her off like how Steve knew he was pissing Fury off by doing this. She just hoped she didn't get a severe punishment for this.

As they approach the stretching group Quinn can hear the faint chatter amongst its members, each of them giving Steve a lingering look before turning to someone to gossip. She heard Steve grunt out a wry laugh to himself as she places her eyes on Maddox who seemed to be making himself at home flirting with two women in the group.

He doesn't even recognize their existence until one of the girls nudges the others arm while gazing up at Steve. For the first time, she hated how everyone's first reaction to him was exactly like that. Gawking. She couldn't relate as to why he would even go out in public like this and deal with masses of pining people.

Maddox narrows his gaze upon Steve's large stature, glaring up at the Avenger. She catches the instructors attention by clearing her throat. "Sorry, we're a little late, we ran into some traffic," she lies effortlessly. She hates how she's become so good at it lately.

A small smirk appears on her face after seeing how livid Maddox has become just by looking at Steve, remembering how he said that Steve shouldn't have gotten to be the subject of the serum made this whole situation more humorous to her. "Hope you don't mind if I crash the party," Steve interjects, earning nearly everyone in the group's attention.

To anyone else, this may have been just a polite way to joke around but knowing what happened last night - how Steve interrupted their date - it was a direct jab at Maddox, which made her grin. "I've seen you guys run through here a bunch, I just wanted to join in at least one time," Quinn swears she can hear every woman in the group gasp with excitement as they quickly whisper to the person next to them. Maddox was no longer the heartthrob of the group.

"It's no trouble," Maddox responds through gritted teeth, trying to turn to ignore them once again until Steve clears his throat.

"I also heard you think you're the fastest in D.C.," Steve addresses, causing Maddox to turn with a frown.

"And?"

"I'm here to challenge that," Steve announces, earning a wry laugh from his competitor.

"I don't think that's fair," Maddox exclaims, crossing his arms across his chest. "You have the enhancements and all,"

"I would be able to beat you without any enhancements," Steve challenges, his voice getting low and threatening. He puffs up his chest as he starts getting insulted by Maddox, Quinn pats his chest, telling him to stand down as she steps in front of him, looking directly at Maddox.

"I'll do it," she pipes up. Maddox makes a confused face as if he'd been slapped out of nowhere. "Do what?" he clarifies. "Beat you. Without enhancements. If I win you stop acting as if you were the victim last night -"

"If I win," Maddox speaks up, pressing his index finger to his chest and sauntering closer to her. "I get to take you on another date," he leans down to her ear so only she can hear him say, "And I will do whatever I want." He moves away from her, winking in the process while Quinn is stone cold.

"Knowing how you've been running lately, I'll make the date for this Saturday at eight? Sound good?" he leers, Quinn doesn't respond. His eyes flicker up at Jo for a moment. "You'll want to stay out of the house that day, things will get loud,"

Jo tries to jump forward at Maddox, fists clenched, eyes swelling with rage as she attempts to attack him, however, Steve holds her back. His eyes lock on Maddox for a split second. "That won't happen," he states, his voice once again threatening.

It was enough to make a chill run up Quinn's spine. She took note to never piss off Steve, she was nervous to just be around him at the moment. Maddox hums a little in triumph as he walks away, demanding that everyone stay back as there's going to be a race between him and Quinn.

"Are you sure you can handle this?" Jo asks worry is imminent in her voice as they begin pacing towards the pavement where Maddox was stretching his legs. Adrenaline starts coursing through her veins just at the sight of him, there was no way he could win. "Yes," Quinn answers softly, calmly as her nerves begin to spark off in several different directions.

As she reaches the pavement she begins stretching her legs just as Maddox did, trying her best to avoid eye contact with him. A soft touch wraps itself around her shoulders. It's Steve, pulling her close to him, it's the closest they've ever been while being conscious.

"If Blair taught you anything about running or anything of this sort that'll help you win, use it," he whispers to her, before pulling on her shoulders in a half attempt of a hug. Quinn hums in agreement before letting go of him, locking her eyes with Maddox as she saunters up to the crack in the pavement that they've cleared as the starting line.

Quinn crouches down beside Maddox who seems to be giggling at nothing. "Didn't know you and Captain America were so close," he notes, trying to distract her. "Hope something doesn't happen to him on his next mission or whatever he does since he's wasting his time with you," the taunt doesn't take effect on Quinn on the outside but deep down inside that was always her main worry, her biggest concern when it came to her friendship with Steve.

But no matter how many missions he went on he always came back. He always wanted his jacket and he always managed to give it to her each time he went on a mission.

She shakes her head clear of the thoughts of Steve and focuses on the mission she gave herself, she had to be the first at the monument, she couldn't let Maddox take advantage of anyone else nor could she risk seeing him again. Her heart thumps rapidly in her chest as she begins tuning out the rest of the world. All she does is focus on her breathing and lets her mind go blank, leaving everything out in a muffle. She barely hears someone say go as she lunges forward along with Maddox.

For the most part, Maddox is in the lead by a hair, no matter how hard she pumps her legs. She can see the shit-eating grin on his face as he gains even more of a lead. Her lungs start to burn and her eyes start to swell with tears as she pushes herself to her extreme. Her heels never touch the ground yet, Maddox is barely struggling to keep up with her. She had let herself go ever since she started overtime, she could clearly see that now.

That's when she starts pumping her legs faster. Overtime didn't screw her over, it introduced her to Steve, she was brought into a new way of life. She met Agent Barton and Blair, and she was training, not to be an agent, but to be evaluated as one. That's why Fury approached her, that's why Blair didn't hold back.

She was more than just some lonely I.T. that ran every morning with a jogging group. She was Quinn. And she would make a damn poor agent if she were to get bested by Maddox.

She pushes well past her limits, running at what seemed to be more than her top speed. She finally gets in the lead by a hair, glancing from the corner of her eye at Maddox who's face is more determined to beat her more than ever. She was almost at the monument, just a few more feet and she'd make it.

"Hey, Maddox," she pants out from beside him, he grunts in reply. "Eat...my...dirt," she pants lunging forward an extra few inches - pulling herself into a visible lead just as they approach the monument. She skids to a halt, raising her arms above her head in victory. She can hear Jo shout at her triumph from across the reflective pool, Steve just stands clapping his hands and smiling.

Her breath is ragged and labored as she takes a moment to catch her breath, Maddox appears to be having a tough time too as he places himself on the ground. His chest heaves from the deep breaths he intakes. Quinn saunters over to him, limping in the process, her legs weren't used to this kind of running. She outstretches her hand for him to take, all he does is look at it and then shake his head.

"All I wanted...was you..." he exclaims, his voice was more sharp than usual as he was exhausted. Quinn rolls her eyes and crouches down beside him. "I'm not a prize, I am not a goal, and I am not a pushover. I am a person, who is not interested and you didn't care," Quinn lectures earning an eye roll from him.

It hurt her to see him act the way he was, this wasn't the Maddox she had grown accustomed to. "I want you out of the group," he replies with an acidic tone. This takes her back a moment and then she frowns, pressing forward.

"That's fine. The Joggernauts is a stupid name anyway," Quinn states, standing up and stretching. Her eyes dart towards the edge of the reflective pool where Jo and Steve along with the rest of the group were walking towards them. "I'm sorry it has to end this way, I'll be fine," she shrugs it off and begins walking away from Maddox, who just stares at the ground rather than looking up at her.

A wide smile spread across her face as she approaches Jo and Steve, Jo looking particularly excited that she won. Her arms stretched out as she ran forward to hug her before she quickly pulls away. "You're sweaty, but I'm so happy for you," Jo exclaims, wiping her hands against her jogging sweats. "Yeah, I won," Quinn hums out. "I also got us kicked out of the group,"

"What?" Steve chimes in, crossing his arms over his chest. "He's such a poor loser, but, I can't say I'm not thrilled I don't have to get up at six with you in the morning now," Jo quips with a slight smile, earning an unamused glare from Quinn. She never went anyways, she didn't care.

She turns back to see the group crowding around Maddox as he licks the wounds in his ego. There's a small part of her that wants to destroy the rest of it yet, she lets it go, turning on her heel and walking away towards the entrance of the park where Jo had parked her car. Instinctively she matches her pace with Steve's as Jo heads off in front of them to talk to Josh on the phone.

Quinn admires the smile that is on Jo's face, she's happy she finally found someone to match her needs. "I've been thinking," she starts, catching Steve's curious attention. "I think I want to be an agent," she announces, listening to Steve's breath hitch. "An agent?" Steve reiterates, sounding surprised. "Being an agent implies you'll have to -"

"I know," Quinn interrupts him, her eyes trailing off to where Jo was wandering off to. Being an agent meant detaching from people who cared for you the most.


	22. CHAPTER XXII

**CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO**

**( **HARD KNOCK LIFE **)**

**THERE'S AN AUDIBLE thump as Quinn's** head collides with the soft padding of the blue mat in the gymnasium. She groans as she rubs the back of her head, wincing in pain. She should have gotten used to it by now, she had been training with Blair for a month now and it was relentless. She hadn't taken it easy on her ever since she announced she was going to become an agent.

She remembers fondly of Blair's laugh when she told her. "You don't get to choose to be an agent, Fury has to choose you," Blair had informed her. Ever since Blair had tested her limits whether she liked it or not.

She never went home with visible bruises to her face but she had multiple on her arms, abdomen, her legs. She had been tested with guns, knives, various other weapons that shock, pierce or prod.

Including working with a staff, which she had become reliant on more than anything. Which shows incredibly during this session, as her hand to hand combat could use some more work.

She never truly wanted to rely on her strength alone, she wanted to rely on her wits and some sort of weapon but Blair has told her that that kind of thinking will get herself killed on the field.

Quinn tries to jab another punch at Blair but she's quickly swept off her feet once again by the agent, landing flat on her back. She can't stop the air escaping her lungs as she revels back from the blow.

Tears sting her eyes as she curls into a ball on her side to try to block any attacks while being on the ground. Blair hasn't attacked her while she was down but today she seems more brutal than ever, pushing her far past the limits that she had set.

She begins wondering if being an agent was even worth it if this is how it was going to be. A groan escapes her lips as she feels the burning sensation on her back from where she had landed, she tries to suppress the sound, as usual, this would trigger an unwarranted lecture from Blair.

Unfortunately, she does hear it, and Quinn hears her light footsteps padding their way over to her fetal position. Through half-closed eyes Quinn can see that Blair has stopped right in front of her, she let's out a rough sigh as she opens herself up from her cowardice stance, curled up on the floor, reaching out and grabbing ahold of Blair's hand.

She hauls herself to her feet, avoiding any eye contact with Blair as she knew she'd be disappointed in her. "As an agent who's been on the field for most of her life, I'm gravely discontent with your skill. I thought you'd bring up a new challenge for me, as you did have some experience in the past with law enforcement -"

"To be fair, we didn't beat each other senseless in class," Quinn pipes up, earning a presses lipped scowl from the agent. "Give me thirty for interrupting," Blair demands in a low tone. Quinn sighs as she drops to her hands and begins giving Blair a set of push-ups. It was killing her upper arms with how much she had been using them today.

"As an agent, I'm discontent in your innate ability to develop skills you're not comfortable with but, as your S.O. your stats have improved since we began. You've accomplished many goals I thought an I.T. couldn't. However, that means I'm going to push you harder,"

Quinn finishes the set of push-ups that Blair had demanded from her with a long sigh. Her arms were starting to turn into jelly. Blair catches the sigh and mistakes it as incompetence from her trainee. "You want to be an agent, well it's my job to train you to be the best agent," Blair lectures, earning an eye roll from her student.

Blair quickly sweeps one of her feet off the ground, sending her off her balance. As her center begins to fall backward, Blair's hand juts out and grabs ahold of the collar on her shirt. "As your S.O. I figured you'd at least give me the respect of listening to me. I don't technically have to comply to Fury and train you," Blair hisses out, glaring into Quinn's eyes as she struggles to get away from her grasp.

She manages to tear away, rubbing the sore, irritated, skin that was flushed against her collar. The words gnaw at the back of Quinn's mind, she hadn't meant to offend her, it also didn't cross her mind that Blair could have an array of emotions that delved to feeling hurt.

"I do respect you, Agent Norris," Quinn states formally with a pressed lipped smirk, hoping she'd gain her approval from the small apology. Blair's face begins to soften up as she gazes at Quinn, however, just as her mouth opens the gymnasium's doors swing open.

Her brows furrow in question as she sees Steve and Agent Romanoff sauntering their way across the gym towards them in full tactical gear. A light smile plays at her and Steve's lips as they catch each other's gaze, she quickly hides it from the two other agents in the room.

"Well, well, well," Blair hums out, turning to face away from Quinn and to the two newcomers. "To what do we owe the honor of having you two grace your presence in this gym?"

Steve's brow furrows as he comes to a halt to look at Blair. "This is my gym," he simply states before Agent Romanoff speaks up. "We heard there was a spar happening between the infamous Viper and a new girl," Agent Romanoff informs Blair, her voice sounding calm yet icy at the same time.

A snort rings out in the gym, all eyes turn towards Quinn as she tries to stop smiling. "I'm sorry," she apologizes for her outburst. It was the most ridiculous code name she had heard for an agent, however, that definitely meant that Blair had a record that was viable enough for them to give her that code name. At least, she was learning from one of the best then.

"I wouldn't call it a spar, she's letting me wipe the floor with her face," Blair goads Quinn, who just fidgets with her fingers, staring down at the ground in embarrassment. No visible bruises but her ego was certainly damaged with the comment.

"Why don't you try it with me?" Agent Romanoff suggests, ripping Quinn's pitiful gaze from the floor to her eyes. She swallows a lump in the back of her throat as Agent Romanoff smirks at her. She had only seen Agent Romanoff in person once before a couple of weeks ago. She was the most beautiful agent who she laid eyes upon, no wonder her skills as a spy relied heavily on seduction.

She could easily lure men into her trap. She could definitely lure Quinn in. "Natasha," Steve warns in a low voice, stopping her dead in her tracks. Her gaze dances to the corner of her eyes to see Steve shake his head once. Natasha shrugs at Quinn's disappointed expression. "Captain's orders," she mutters out unamused. "Doesn't want to see his girl get hurt," she muses, leaning back carefree.

"I'm not his girl -" Quinn states in unison with Steve, who merely gives her a surprised look and then glances away. "I'm a little too busy for relationships at the moment," Quinn tries to cover herself from the rejection, hoping it would throw Blair and Natasha's scent off her track.

She liked Steve, she admired him to a degree she didn't think was possible. But she had determined that he was far out of his league for her. Besides, it was better to just be friends with the legendary Captain instead of having any relations with him.

She'd be the biggest target on his enemies list if they ever got together. She couldn't have that with her mother, and with Jo. There were just too many people she cared about to not let her crush on Steve disrupt any of her somewhat stable life. Blair easily taps the back of her arm, bringing her back to reality.

"Let's show them what you've got," her smile is deceptive, it's a ploy to get Quinn to believe in herself to make a fool out of herself in front of Natasha and Steve. However, with the way, Blair was eyeing her and Steve she had to find something to distract herself.

Quinn firmly nods her head, stepping towards her normal spot on the tarp. "Do you guys mind? She could use a little outsiders opinions," Blair tries to convince the two agents. Steve simply nods his head while Natasha smirks towards them. "Put on a good show," she teases the two.

Blair instructs Quinn to use her staff as she passes it off. If anyone was going to give her tips on how to use an uncommon weapon in battle it was Steve. His shield was less of a weapon than anything and yet it still struck fear into some people's hearts at the sight of it.

Quinn takes the metal rod in her hands, stretching it over her head in an attempt to limber up. Her breathing deepens as she closes her eyes and stretches, trying her best to feel connected to her weapon as Blair had once instructed her. Once she had drowned out the rest of the world, she's ready.

She opens her eyes to find that Blair was doing the same as she was, and was now moving into a defensive position just like she was. They stare each other down for a moment, taking in deep breaths, sizing each other up.

Blair nods her head once, commencing the fight to begin. Quinn's the first to attack, leaving out all her defensive training behind. If she can get Blair off her feet first she'd be down. She lifts the staff upwards to bring it down with a force but Blair easily dodges it, along with Quinn's body.

Quinn quickly adverts all her force to barely skid off of Blair's back, clutching on to her staff once again she tries to jam the staff upwards to connect with Blair's face. Blair slams down hard on her worst causing the staff to go flying into the air and out of reach for her.

However, she quickly stops Blair's attack by sweeping one leg upwards trying to swipe at her head but Blair once again dodges is and knocks Quinn off her balance. Once Quinn regains her bearings she attempts to jab Blair in the face, not once but twice, each of her hands getting stopped by her instructor.

This gives her leeway to jam her knee up into her instructors gut, knocking the wind out of her with a groan as she staggers backward. Quinn sees this as an opportunity to cease the upper hand in the spar. She runs towards Blair, who is still recuperating from the blow and swipes her right leg towards Blair's head.

Once again Blair dodges this attack by ducking down and somersaulting away. Quinn attempts to knock her off balance once again by grabbing on to her forearm but Blair uses the brute force to propel herself into the air and flip over Quinn's head.

As she lands, she lands a direct kick into Quinn's side, earning a grunt from her student as she clutches on to the spot for a moment. As she's distracted by the pain, Quinn barely has time to avoid another kick from Blair. She jabs her fists out twice connecting them with Blair's collarbone and jawline.

Blair, in turn, flips over Quinn's head once again and lands a forceful kick to her back, knocking Quinn to the ground. Quinn's vision is blurry and her head begins to swirl from the exhaustion that she had put herself into.

She can't help by lie helplessly as Blair straddles her back, placing her in a chokehold. Her labored breathing is cut off momentarily sending her mind in a panic to try to wrestle her way out of Blair's clutches. "Dead," Blair whispers into her ear before releasing her tight grip on her neck.

Quinn gasps for air as she lies motionless on the floor, her body tingles yet stings from the brawl. She feels her face flush a bright red with embarrassment as she realizes that she had just sorely lost in front for Steve and Natasha. She could only assume their gazes were critical on how she handled the spar.

As she rises to her feet, she hides her face away from the two spectators in fear of showing any sign of weakness. It doesn't last long as she catches Steve's concerned gaze in a side glance. "She's getting better," Blair announces as she saunters her way over to the two agents.

"You should stop by more often, she's willing to put up a good fight if you're watching," she comments, waving a finger over at Steve with a smirk. Quinn quickly adjusts her hair and defends herself by adamantly denying the statement. Although, she did try maybe a little harder knowing Steve was watching.

He was the reason she was taking these lessons, she wanted to show him she was good. She finally gains the courage to actually face the two agents, even if her neck was a vibrant hue of pink and her ego was damaged.

"You're heavily reliant on that weapon of yours," Natasha speaks up, gaining her full attention. "I suggest hitting up hand to hand a little more. Your weapon can easily disappear on the field but you'll always have your body, "

Quinn nods her head in agreement to the constructive criticism while noting that that's what they're working on today. Her eyes then flicker up to Steve, as he gives her a worried look. The edges of her lips twist up into an innocent smile as she awaits his criticism.

"Anything, Cap?" Blair questions, trying to see if there was anything else she could work on with Quinn. Steve let's out a sigh as he gnaws on his bottom lip for a moment, before placing his hands on his hips and giving Quinn a stern look.

"I agree with Nat, hand to hand is shaky," Steve states. "You took the offensive and that's a critical skill to know if you're going to make the first move. Use the staff as a defensive structure, don't use your body to block hits. It'll hurt worse hitting a metal rod than someone's ribcage,"

Quinn nods her head as she takes in his words, agreeing with him to a degree. She didn't want to block Blair's attacks with her body, but Blair had thrown the staff away. They were right about her learning hand to hand but she couldn't help but hold herself back as she tried to punch at Blair. She didn't want to purposely hurt her. "You hear that," Blair says to Quinn. "It's not every day you get training advice from Captain America himself,"

The statement is enough to make Steve roll his eyes as Quinn bit down on her lip and nodded her head. "I appreciate the advice," she says thankfully towards Steve. "Although, I do have to ask why you're dressed in your uniform,"

Steve raises his brows at the out of the blue question before his cheeks turn a tinge of pink. He gives Natasha a sideways glance and she barely nods her head at the silent question. The agent grabs ahold of Blair and wanders off, talking about their old missions, leaving Quinn and Steve alone for a moment.

There's a bit of an awkward silence between the pair as no one wants to address the elephant in the room as to why Natasha was addressing her as his girl. The idea of being with him made Quinn happy but she knew the consequences of it and she couldn't risk everything for him.

She absentmindedly clears her throat bringing both of them back to reality. "You did a good job for a rookie," Steve muses an attempt to compliment her. Quinn's cheeks also change to a twinge of pink at the compliment. She rubs her knuckles and chuckles with embarrassment. "Thanks, I'll try to keep working on hand to hand as long as you keep giving me pointers,"

"So the teacher becomes the student," Steve muses with a wide smile, making her scoff at the statement. The very idea of challenging Captain America to a fight seemed suicidal and a little psychotic. "So the suit?" Quinn questions once again, plucking at the navy blue material on his forearm.

Steve raises his brows at the gesture before finding the right words. He bends down to grab ahold of his leather jacket, watching Quinn's eyes grow saddened at the sight of it. She knew what this meant by now.

She plucks the jacket out his hands and presses it firmly against her as she tries to make sense of it. "When?" Is all she can mutter out. "As soon as possible," he answers her, earning a saddened sigh from her.

She couldn't help it, she had grown too fond of him to just let him go on dangerous missions all the time. He was Captain America but she wished they could use someone else for a change like Tony Stark or even Bruce Banner. "I'll be back soon hopefully, I don't think this will take long, a day at most," he tries to explain.

Quinn shakes off her sorrow and looks Steve in the eyes, giving him a forced smile. There were people who needed him, it would be selfish of her to ask for him to stay. "I'll see you soon then," she whispers out, her voice cracking in the process.

She steps back as he attempts to step forward to embrace her, she wanted to keep her distance from him, she had already gotten too close. He throws her a confused look as her eyes press towards her feet, avoiding any eye contact with him. "Good luck," she bids him before turning on her heel and heading towards the blue cushiony mat.

She hears him call for Natasha before exiting the gym to head off on his mission and her heart sinks. It's been getting harder and harder for her to just watch him waltz around fighting people. It hurts her when he comes back with stitches on his forehead or cuts on his arms.

Yet she couldn't be the person to tell him he couldn't go, even if she did she would push him away. He's always prone to danger. Blair pats the back of her arm, causing Quinn to jump back into reality. "So, what's the deal with you and Steve?" she openly questions, making Quinn's heart skip a beat.

Her cheeks flare up with embarrassment. Her crush was too obvious and it was starting to become more apparent to people. Quinn purses her lips as she tucks the jacket tighter to her chest. "Nothing's happening between us,"

_**~ BOOK ONE: WINTER SOLDIER ~**_

**CAR HORNS BLARE loudly from all** over the freeway, as rush hour begins. Quinn scolds herself for being stuck in it, knowing she could've taken another way to avoid this traffic jam. She turns on the radio only to hear them with the traffic update that it's all sitting ducks because of an accident, it may take up a forty-five-minute delay.

She lets out another frustrated sigh as she switches the station to an upbeat song that she could at least attempt at tapping her feet too. Nothing seemed to help with the stress that was building upon her.

Steve being out on so many missions worried her, along with Jo leaving her at home alone most of the time now. Things had gotten really serious with Josh, she knew it was only a matter of time where either Josh would move in with them or Jo would move out with Josh. Then she'd be left alone to deal with the stress of her mother, her job, and Steve all by herself. At least she could vent to Jo about a bad day at work, living alone she couldn't do that.

There's a sudden ringing sound coming from her phone she had tucked into the center console. Its vibrations caused the whole console to vibrate.

Quinn cursed as she tried to pick up the phone in time, along with steadily moving forward with traffic. She answered it quizzically, while at the same time her tone sounded irritable from the traffic.

_"Miss Cruise, this is Doctor Woodruff, how are you today?"_ The voice over the receiver questioned in a posh accent. Quinn's brows raise in shock as she desperately tries to turn down her radio to pay attention to her mother's doctor. "Doctor Woodruff, I'm fine," she begins with pleasantries on how her day was and what the weather is up in New York City.

Quinn hesitates for a moment after she forced a giggle out for the doctor. "How-how is she?" she curiously questions. She can hear Doctor Woodruff take in a pensive gasp as she nervously waits for an answer. _"She's doing better," _Doctor Woodruff starts, sending a wave of relief throughout Quinn's body. _"She's not in the busy ward of the hospital as she was prior but she's still in the hospital,"_

"Well that's good," Quinn chimes in, moving up with the rest of traffic before coming to a complete stop again. She hears Doctor Woodruff take in another pensive breath before starting back up again.

_"Miss Cruise is very pertinent that your mother is transferred to my facility out of the city. She will have all of the help she needs whenever she needs it and I can't guarantee that'll happen here,"_

Quinn slams her eyes shut with frustration as she completely halts as someone tries to cut her off, her teeth dig into her bottom lip as she tries to resist the urge to shout at the driver and to Doctor Woodruff.

"I know, Doctor Woodruff," Quinn starts with an edge to her tone. "That she needs to go to your facility to be watched over and I am very for that but I'm really tight on money, even with your financial assistance program that you offer. I just got a new promotion and I will be making more in the coming months but right now I just don't have the funds,"

By the end of her rant, she's out of breath and out of patience at the traffic. If she heard any more bad news from Doctor Woodruff she may lose her temper. Thankfully, Doctor Woodruff hears the frustration in her voice and attempts to diffuse the semi-hostile situation.

_"Very well,"_ she says in a soft, calm tone. _"I will treat her here with the same care she's been getting but Miss Cruise, I highly advise she go to the facility, you may have to make a sacrifice here," _her voice is icy by the end of her request, sending Quinn's temper sky high. Although she is angry with the doctor she tries her best to remain calm for traffic's sake.

"Thank you for that advice, Dr. Woodruff, is that all you were calling for?" Her tone isn't as pleasant as she was hoping but it did get Doctor Woodruff off the phone fast enough for her to finally throw her temper tantrum. She slams her phone down on the passenger's seat beside her as she hangs up.

"_'__You'll have to make sacrifices',_" Quinn mimicks Doctor Woodruff's accent along with making it sickeningly sweet time. She grunts in frustration as every nerve in her feels electric. "Yeah, thanks for that advice!" She shouts, blaring on the horn as the person in the next lane over almost hits the front of her car, trying to pull into the lane.

She turns the radio on to try to calm her nerves once again, then fishes for her phone in the center console only to remember throwing it in the seat next to her. She gazes at the brown leather jacket sitting comfortably in the seat, her phone perched on top of it.

She sighs in frustration. She had her mother and Steve to worry about. Her head curiously peaks up at the sky, watching an aircraft fly effortlessly overhead. She couldn't help but wonder if he would be on it, on his way to his mission or if he had already been sent out earlier. Either way, it makes her heart clench.


	23. CHAPTER XXIII

**CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE**

**( **UNEXPECTED **)**

**THE COOL NIGHT wind whips around** Quinn as she takes her time stepping out of her car. She tugs at Steve's leather jacket tighter, hoping to create some heat from the large jacket.

Although it had been two weeks since he and Natasha last left, she felt the same stabbing sensation of watching him leave on a mission once again, and once again he handed her his jacket to inform her he was leaving.

It had become a tradition of theirs, now every time she saw the jacket she winced a little like she had been slapped or pinched. Even though he always came back she knew there was a fair chance he never would on each mission and each day he was off on the mission made it seem like an eternity for her. Like she was falling into a pit of hopelessness and disappear.

Her tiny crush she had developed on him was getting bigger with each smile he shared with her and she didn't know how to take it.

Unlike Maddox, she knew she wanted to be with Steve but whether or not she was ready was the thing that kept holding her back from asking him on an official date.

Of course, he would come over and watched movies or television with her (only ones that were iconic and worth watching like _Star Wars_ or the _Jurassic Park_ movies), but that was purely to show him what he's missed from the decades he spent in the ice.

Jo always called them dates but Quinn was heavily against calling them that. Steve didn't have an opinion on what they called them, but they weren't dates to him either. She grumbles to herself as she unlocks the door to the building.

She had planned to watch _Indiana Jones_ with Steve tonight but of course, he had an immediate mission to go with Natasha that he couldn't tell her about. As she enters her loft it's completely dark which throws her off.

Usually, they leave a light on within the loft just in case someone was trying to break in. Unless someone did break-in in this case. Quinn shakes the thought of Jo being dead somewhere in the loft, she recounts to the parking lot. She hadn't seen her car, she must've been at Josh's.

It still didn't explain the absence of Rudolph. Quinn shuffles her way inside, cautiously peering around from side to side before shutting the door to the outside, entering the loft into complete darkness. She suppresses the urge to shout if anyone is there, she knows someone is there, she's just hoping it's Jo playing a prank on her.

If that was the case Quinn was going to chew her out. She timidly makes her way into the loft, softly padding towards the kitchen. Her breathing is going to be her enemy as she can't seem to keep her breathing quiet. It's shaky and all over the place, as well as her trembling hands.

Her foot collides with something in the darkness causing her to trip loudly. A laugh erupts from the living room causing her hair on the back of her neck to stand on edge. She reaches helplessly up to the counter only to knock over the display with their steak knives over. She fumbles as she blindly tries to grab ahold of the blunt end of a knife.

As she does the lights come on and she sees exactly what - or who - she's tripped over. She lets out a loud gasp and her hand immediately latches on to the golden fur of Rudolph's motionless body. "Ruddy!" She whispers out hotly, tears stinging her eyes.

A pair of loud footsteps alert her and she grabs ahold of the steak knife and points it up at the intruder. Her eyes soften for a moment as she looks up at the intruder. "Agent Ward?" her voice is trembling slightly. "What did you do to him?" she blurts out, holding on to Rudolph's head protectively.

Agent Ward merely kicks the knife out of her hands, flinging it upwards towards the ceiling. She staggers on her rear, pushing herself back to escape him but he roughly grabs ahold of her underneath her arm. She fights, dragging herself along the floor in protest.

Her legs kick upwards as she remembers her training, she's able to scissor kick him and lay him flat on his back for a moment before she quickly tackles her back down to the ground. This time he grabs her by the scruff of Steve's jacket and drags her to the couch, tears stream down her face as she groans at the pain Agent Ward has caused her and out of pure adrenaline.

He ties something around her mouth, muffling the sound of her sobs. A pair of fingers snap in front of her face, drawing her attention forward. Her eyes widen as she gazes up at Alexander Pierce, the Undersecretary.

Confusion overcomes her as she continues to look between him, Agent Ward, and a man sitting to his left with a notable metal arm. "How are you, Miss Cruise?" The Undersecretary asks, earning just another confused look from Quinn.

Her eyes guarded as he chuckles at the fact she's been gagged. "You know me but it's probably a shock to you that I know who you are," he states, shrugging his shoulders. Quinn's eyes quickly gaze towards the man with a metal arm, who's gun lays splayed in his lap.

"You've got a nice place here for someone who has an I.T. job. What do you pay monthly two grand?" he humorously questions looking around the loft, trying to lighten the mood. "Nice dog too, really friendly breed. You're lucky he didn't attack or else...well...he wouldn't be knocked out with mild sedatives now," he once again chuckles at his own joke, trying and failing to make Quinn feel comfortable.

"You're probably wondering why I'm here of all places to be too, well I have a proposition for you Cruise," he leans forward, she can smell the minty stench of his cologne making her sick. What did she do to deserve this? "If I remove the gag, you have to promise you won't scream, or else big guy here might have to do something drastic,"

Quinn attempts to muffle out an '_okay_' but it doesn't come out clear, leaving Pierce to look at her with a dead look. She carefully and slowly nods her head, never breaking eye contact with him. Ward is the one to cross the room to release the gag out of her mouth, leaving her feeling breathless as it's removed.

She can taste a bit of blood from her gums as the cloth dug into her mouth. "Tell me, Cruise, have you ever heard about Insight before?" he questions her, hopping up from his chair to look out of her loft window. She raises a brow up in question. "I'm sorry, sir, I haven't,"

"Well that's good," he chuckles, turning back towards her. "If you had, I would have to do some serious firing," he attempts to joke as he sits back across from her. She wants to lamely smile at his version of a joke but she couldn't take anything light-hearted at the moment. "Insight is something S.H.I.E.L.D. has been working on for some time now, I figured Captain Rogers would've told you about it if he knew,"

"Steve doesn't tell me anything, he's a good man," Quinn spits out in defense of her friend. Whatever Pierce was doing here had something to do with Steve, she knew it. She had to protect him, yet she had to protect Jo and even Rudolph first. "That he is," Pierce muses as if he's bored. "But he's hiding things from S.H.I.E.L.D. and I was thinking you could help us with that,"

"Help how? By getting information? He won't tell me," she clarifies expressing her frustration by raising her voice a little. Pierce puts his finger to his lips as the man with the metal arm clenches his grip tighter on his gun. Quinn stops even though she wants to panic immediately and run out the door. She tries her best to refrain herself from creating any more stress to the situation.

"Well, we noticed that you've been training with Agent Norris and you've gotten pretty close to Captain Rogers -"

"I'm going to stop you right there," Quinn perks up, her voice trembling. She had caught Pierce off guard as he turns to look at her surprised. It takes a moment before she can find her voice as she looks at the man with a metal arm and his gun before looking towards Pierce again. "I'm not going to hurt Steve, if that's what you want,"

"And if it is what I want, what can I do to persuade you to willingly hurt him?" Pierce ponders as he begins listing off materialistic items. "Money? A new life?"

"Nothing. My life may be a bit of a mess but it is perfect the way it is," she cuts him off. Pierce runs a hand across his face as he sighs heavily. The man with the metal arm moves his finger on the trigger of his gun, instantly alerting Quinn of his presence that he's still there. She jumps a bit but stands her ground glaring at all three men in silence, just waiting for the bullet to fly through her head.

"Your mother Marianne Angeline Cruise is in the New York City hospital, treating under the care of Doctor Meredith Woodruff, she's on the third floor, room forty-three forty-five, the exact coordinates are forty point seventy-five degrees latitude and negative seventy-three point ninety-seven degrees longitude. Your mother's hair is up today, she's currently laying down in her bed, watching Jeopardy," Pierce lists off, whirling around with a pager in his hands in the process.

Quinn's jaw was on the floor with the exact details that he rambles off about her mother. "All it takes is one shot, Cruise, and you'll lose your last family member. It'll be her blood on your hands,"

Quinn bites her bottom lips hard as she furrows her brow in thought. "I'll do whatever you want, just don't hurt her or hurt Steve, I care about him too much," she stipulates, hoping that they wouldn't let her be the one to harm him. Instead, she gets a hearty laugh from the Undersecretary.

"Oh, I see, you think Captain America actually cares about you. That's so sweet," he goads with a smug smile. "He does," Quinn reiterates, slightly moving defensively. The man with the metal arm trains his gun on her, and she instantly settles down. "I won't hurt him," she chants out with a deadly tone, looking Pierce dead in the eyes with a rueful glare.

Pierce sits back as he rolls his eyes. "I really wanted to do this the easy way," he simply states before nudging the metal armed man beside him a little. The sudden movement sets all the alarms off in Quinn's head, as the man moves dangerously close to her with his gun. She begins to beg with him and Pierce before she turns to see the butt of the gun ramming her in the head. Her world becomes faint before it turns to black.

She can't really get a grip on what's happening, all she can do is fade in and out of consciousness unwillingly. She remembers being shoved into a van with Agent Ward and trying to protest to not get gives in there with him.

When she can't see anything all she does is envision _being at home with Jo and Rudolph when there's a knock on the door and Steve enters. _

As her conscious pulls back to reality she faintly sees what can only appear to be some sort of a weird bank vault. Pierce is standing to one side of the room talking to other agents like Ward clad in all black. She attempts to stand up but her wrists forcibly stop her from doing so.

She looks down to see that she's been restrained to a chair, setting off a panic in her. She sees Pierce acknowledge her but can't hear his voice as she's pulled back into her unconscious state.

_She's in the loft with Steve, his leather jacket is clung tightly around his shoulders. He bites his bottom lip as he begins to pull her in, closing the gap between them as he cups her face, lips inches from hers._

There's a pinching, and then burning sensation coming from her neck, bringing her out of the dream. She looks to see a man with latex gloves shoving a needle deep into her neck. She wants to scream but her body will not let her. "How are you feeling, champ?" a distorted voice asks her.

She lazily flips her head to the side to see a blurred version of Pierce with latex gloves on as well. "You look like hell, kid," he tuts, grasping on to her cheeks and then letting go "I wish we could've done this the easy way, but, I guess this is the only way," he sighs out, earning a gurgled sound from Quinn as she watches him pull out something black from the table beside the chair. It's a mouthguard.

Her mind tries to take over what if could be used for but by the time she's stopped fighting a way to break free of this the mouth guard has found its way into her mouth, making her drool a little. "Sorry it had to be this way," his voice is distant in her mind even though he's next to her in the chair.

She watches him push away in the wheeled chair as someone locks on to the sides of her head, forcing her to look forward. Exhaustion overwhelms her, she's too weak to fight anything including herself. She stares out at the handful of people in the room watching her intently as two black pieces latch on to either side of her face.

She wishes she could blackout, she wishes she could sleep and dream, but her body won't let her. Her breathing is sporadic as she sits in the chair, panicking about what's happening.

She never could have anticipated what was to come next. A humming sound alerted her that something was about to happen before her head felt like exploding as she feels a wave of electricity run through her mind.

She bites down on the mouthguard, her screams muffled by the device as another shock tears through her. Memories flash before her, memories containing Steve. All turn a certain blood red as they cross her mind. Slowly but surely she fades back into being unconscious only hearing certain words that sear themselves into the back of her mind as she attempts to mumble them out.

_**~ BOOK ONE: THE WINTER SOLDIER ~**_

**WHEN SHE WAKES up she's gasping** for air, clutching down on to her comforter. Her mind is racing, still thinking she's in danger until she feels something creep up to her. She groans at the sudden wetness of Rudolph's tongue sliding across her face in an attempt to comfort her.

Rudolph was in her room with her, alive and well. Quinn tosses her blanket off her body, she was fully clothed in her pajamas, ones that she only wears when she's home alone. She carefully makes her way out of her room to see the kitchen light on like it always is.

No signs of distress or forced entry anywhere. Had she dreamt it all up? It could be possible, she was stressed from work and from Steve being gone. Blair had also been pushing her to her limits once again.

The door begins to jingle, catching Quinn off guard and also alerting her to an intruder. She quickly grabs ahold of a steak knife from their display and points it at the front door, just waiting for the intruder to walk in.

Her eyes narrow as the door flings open to reveal Jo. Instant relief flows through her veins as she utters out Jo's name in disbelief. Jo cautiously stares between Quinn and the knife in her hands as she pets Rudolph on the forehead.

"Quinn, what's going on?" Jo questions nervously, causing Quinn to nervously spin around in a circle to see if there was a danger. No one could hurt Jo when she was there to protect her, she was the reason why she couldn't let anyone hurt her. What would Jo do without her?

"Quinn," Jo beckons to her roommate, careful to not stand too close to Quinn with the knife in her hands. Quinn twirls to see the hurt and confusion Jo held within her eyes, her stances defensive just in case she needed to grab the knife from Quinn. "Is everything all right?" she questions her roommate once again, pushing Rudolph behind her just in case.

Quinn blinks at Jo confused before looking down at the knife in her hand. She quickly puts the knife down on the counter and puts her face in her hands, sighing out of frustration. She never wanted to scare Jo. "Just a nightmare," she excuses herself. "It's made me a little jumpy,"

"Is it about the intruders again?" Jo asks, relaxing a little from Quinn's sudden defeat with the knife. Quinn had always had nightmares about home invasions, even though it never personally happened to her or Jo.

She didn't like the fact that one in five people were kleptomaniacs and would kill to steal something they really wanted. Quinn merely nods her head as she bites down on her bottom lip almost embarrassed. She couldn't believe she had a nightmare about her own boss and an agent who helped her learn her tricks.

"You can sleep with me, come on," Jo offers, more like demands, as she hooks her arm around Quinn's to lead her down the hall. Quinn didn't protest, being with someone strengthened their numbers against the odds of an actual home invasion.

She still could believe she thought Pierce was our to get her for being close to Steve, work has really taken its toll on her. She didn't see any signs of breaking and entering but if she had looked up in the kitchen, she still would've noticed the spot where Agent Ward had kicked a knife up into the ceiling and pried it back down.


	24. CHAPTER XXIV

**CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR**

**( **THE COLD SHOULDER **)**

**ANXIETY WAS ALWAYS the first feeling** she felt when the quinjets came in, toting agents on and off their heavy frames. She was anxious to see if Steve would actually step off the quinjets if he did her mood would instantly change like it normally did but something in her gut screamed that something was wrong.

She could barely pay attention to the lunch tray that sat in front of her as she stared out into the hangar from the canteen, let alone pay the slightest attention to what Dustin and Jack were blabbering about. She nods her head every so often to convey that she was actually in the conversation but in reality, her head was somewhere else.

She tried her best not to get her hopes up as the quinjet releases its hatch to let nothing but normal agents flood out. She knew that his missions could take up to days at a time, she didn't want to jinx herself by wishing he was here.

Even if he were she wouldn't know how to act. Although, she thought of him often something in her mind recently changed the way she perceived him.

Something told her that he was dangerous and not to be trusted, even though she whole-heartedly wanted to trust him. This new guard she put up was unreasonable but there was no way she could put it down. She had fear instilled upon her but she was unsure what he had done to cause her to be afraid of him or to even consider him a threat.

There's a slam on the table that causes Quinn to jump out of her seat, her heart thumps wildly as she clutches on to her chest. She looks to see a concerned Dustin looking up at her, hand sprawled across the table. "Are you okay?" he questions, his voice on edge. "I didn't mean to scare you, I was just showing how hard I had to hit my door to get it shut," he tries to convince her with a sheepish grin.

Her cheeks become hot as her breathing becomes irregular. She had no idea what had triggered that response in her. She hadn't been introduced to any trauma that made her jumpy like this, nor did she understand why she was now somewhat terrified of Steve.

She gruffly shakes her head, clearing her thoughts as she lets out a tentative sigh. "I have to go," she huffs out, quickly turning on her heel. By the time Dustin protests to ask where she's leaving she already throwing away her lunch tray and heading out the door.

She had no interest in sticking around to see if Steve had shown up or not, she didn't think it'd be a good idea at the moment. Her thoughts never seem to end, they were getting louder and louder until they were screaming that Steve was a threat.

She had to pause and think if he actually was a threat. He saved all of New York, put his life on the line to save the world, he went on missions to help people, why all of a sudden did he seem like a criminal?

Her eyes stay trained on the ground as she tries to find the nearest bathroom, hoping to conceal her face that was redder than a tomato. She lets out a suppressed sigh as she narrowly dives into a bathroom stall, gripping at her head which was throbbing.

Steve wasn't a threat, he wasn't dangerous, he wouldn't hurt her if anything he'd protect her as he did with Maddox. Yet she still felt like she was in danger when she thought of him. She shakes her head to clear her thoughts of anything about Steve.

_He's not a threat,_ her mind chants repeatedly. The pressure she applies to her temples feels good as she also takes in and breaths out several deep breaths - a method she had developed to deal with stress after the passing of her brother. If only her mother dealt with it that way. Maybe she wouldn't have all the stress of pinching pennies then.

Her mind ignites as she tries to pinpoint a reason as to why she thought Steve was a threat. He wasn't; it was just the stress getting to her. The conversation she had had with Doctor Woodruff must've really messed with her head if she was registering Steve as a threat.

A pent up sigh of relief escapes her lips as she relaxed, her mind no longer felt as if it were on fire. Instead of thinking he was a threat now, she was more excited to see him once he returned from the mission. She claws her way out of the bathroom stall, she finds none other than Blair leaning up against the sink.

Her presence made Quinn jump in surprise, she thought she was the only one in the restroom. "You're like a ghost, I didn't hear anyone in here," she mutters out as she heads to the sink next to Blair. The agent rolls her eyes as she crosses her arms, an annoyed gaze resting on her face.

"Part of the job," she easily replies, her tone was low yet it held no sign of annoyance, unlike her expression. Quinn primps herself in the mirror, purposely ignoring Blair's glare. She didn't want to get into a lecture with her.

Not here, not now, especially in a public restroom that could be accessed by everyone at S.H.I.E.L.D. Her involvement with Steve was supposed to be kept low, to not cause a stir or a shift in the dynamic at S.H.I.E.L.D. as Fury delicately put it, unless she wanted to see more scientists becoming agents; receptionists becoming pilots, that kind of shift.

Blair was part of the deal when it came to the secrecy of her agreement with Fury, who would have her head if anyone figured out what was happening. "Do you regularly come into the bathroom to glare at people?" Quinn questions as wipes an eyelash away from her eye. "Only people who are in distress," Blair responds making Quinn let out a wry laugh. "You think I'm in distress?"

"I know you're in distress," Blair corrects her, sizing her up as she lifts herself away from the sink to continue to glare at her trainee. Quinn copies her movements, a little less confidently, crossing her arms across her chest and sizing her up, only to be a couple of inches shorter than her.

She fidgets uncomfortably under her gaze as she scans her features. Quinn doesn't know whether she's planning to attack her or something else but the strict frown on her face implies that she's still irritated.

"You have dark circles under your eyes, your posture is rigid, and you seem more hostile than usual. Your body language is suggesting you have recently suffered from a traumatic event,"

"_Body language?_"

Blair places her hands on her hips and rolls her eyes. Quinn becomes irritated by this as she realizes she in for a lecture that she wasn't in the mood for. Take that for body language.

"As part of an agent, you have to read a person's body language. What they say may or may not be true but there are certain tricks to help distinguish truth from lie," Blair informs her.

Quinn hesitates for a moment as she continues to eye her instructor, hoping that no one would come in the restroom at any given time. Couldn't she have done this when they were training? Why did she have to lecture her now? She lets out a deep sigh.

"Well, I haven't suffered any tragic event recently, other than this conversation and how full of yourself you sound," she informs Blair, a small smirk playing on her lips as she watches Blair's temper get the better of her.

Her face varied from calm and analytical to annoyed within mere seconds. "Watch it, Cruise," Blair warns, earning a scoff from her trainee. "Between you and Rogers I don't know who's sassier today," she adds drawing Quinn's attention. "You guys are _perfect_ for each other,"

"Rogers?" Quinn questions, grabbing on to Blair's arm so she wouldn't leave. Blair smirks, she finally got her where she wanted her. Directly between her heartstrings. "Yeah," she simply says, pursing her lips as she turns to face her trainee once again.

Quinn shakes her head once again to clear her thoughts as she tries to process how she could look like she suffered from a recent traumatic event. She had been stressed, she may have taken things a bit too far with Blair. "Look, I'm sorry, I'm a little stressed," Quinn tries to explain. "But what about Steve being sassy? When did you last see him?"

"Oh he came in last night," Blair answers nonchalantly checking her nails in the process. "Came in this morning really mad, demanding to speak with Fury,"

Quinn's heartfelt deflated. He usually sent her a message that he returned from a mission well and unharmed. She had been worrying about him all day, only to find out that he was already home.

Blair did mention that he was angry, perhaps his anger got the best of him and he forgot to message her. It was out of the ordinary for their dynamic now. She felt like they had become so close. "You didn't know?" Blair questions in a coy tone, watching Quinn's face become sour with emotions.

"I figured. That's why I wanted to let you know," she adds, rolling her eyes in the process. She heads to leave the restroom, telling Quinn she'd leave her be. However, she pauses as she reaches the door, turning back on her heel to see Quinn's face still cross with confusion.

"No training tomorrow, I'm headed off on a mission," she informs her. Quinn nods her head once as she tries to compose herself and tries to stop thinking about Steve not letting her know he's home. "No tearful good-byes?" Blair teases, hoping to lighten up the mood.

Quinn rips her eyes from the ground to Blair, who winces at how distraught she was getting. "Good luck," Quinn says, all the emotion void from her voice. She gnaws on her bottom lip as Blair exits the restroom.

She had never seen Steve upset before but Blair obviously had with how she was so nonchalant about it. Her mind was filled with possibilities as to why he'd be upset from his mission.

Did he fail? Did someone die? Is this what her mind had been telling her? To stay away from him because he was mad? No, that's not true, Steve wouldn't hurt her.

But she couldn't shake the feeling of being hurt. Maybe he hadn't hurt her physically like her mind was playing out or warning her he was going to do, but he had hurt her emotionally.

He knew how much she worried about these missions and why she would worry, usually, he kept up on it and didn't let her go a couple of hours after he got back but this was more than twelve hours later.

She needed to talk to him, she needed to tell someone about the strange dream she had last night or else she fears it may burn a bigger hole in her mind than the worry for Steve.

Quinn inhales a deep breath once again as she peers down at her phone, she hadn't even noticed that she had whipped it out from her back pocket. She absentmindedly jumps when she hears the door open to the restroom, quickly looking up to see who the intruders were. Kara and Lillian, with the hole of her lip ring showing.

Quinn gives them a nod in acknowledgment as they both give her a standoffish look. Her cheeks burn with embarrassment, she didn't mean to get caught staring off into space. As she leaves the restroom she can hear them snarkily giggling to themselves about her and how weird she was acting.

_**~BOOK ONE: THE WINTER SOLDIER~**_

**SUNLIGHT SEEMS TO seep between the** creases of Quinn's folded arms and into her eyes, making it difficult for her to relax. She huffs out a sigh of frustration, rubbing the sides of her head. Work had given her a killer headache along with the paranoia of why Steve hasn't contacted her yet.

Was he mad at her?

Her thoughts seemed to be running at a mile a minute, conclusions being jumped to in a moment's notice. It took a lot of strength from her to not pick up the phone and relentlessly ask him a million questions.

A soft pawing taps on her forearm, dragging it away from her face. Irritation blinds her for a moment as the sunlight goes directly in her sight until her eyes fixate on the golden retriever sitting beside her.

Rudolph sniffs her hand for a moment before turning his attention back to her, whining. She rolls her eyes at the dog. She hadn't taken him on his walk yet, nor did she feel like she had the energy to take him on one. She had strictly been avoiding the Washington Monument's park for good reason, and that was to specifically avoid Maddox.

However, she couldn't just lap Rudolph around the complex once and call it good, he had recently become insufferably annoying because of how short his walks were.

She just couldn't get Steve out of her mind.

Her fingers intertwine in the golden locks of the dog, forcing herself to let him in order to calm herself. "Not today, bud," she whispers out, her voice cracking in the process.

A slight knocking startles both of them, causing them to simultaneously look over towards the entrance of the bedroom. Rudolph began wagging his tail, but Quinn's head became dizzy with anxiety as she scanned the look on Jo's face.

It wasn't joyful like it usually was, it was almost mournful, depressed. She had noticed that Quinn had been acting strange lately but she hadn't asked what was wrong, she knew she'd only be shut out. "Can we talk for a sec?" Jo asks, gnawing at her bottom lip for a moment.

Quinn breaks eye contact momentarily as she huffs out a long sigh, she didn't want to deal with anyone today. She just wanted to wallow in her own self-pity. She grunts as she pushes Rudolph off from on top of her and staggers towards the bedroom door, grasping at her head in the process to make the room stop swirling.

Jo throws her a concerned look, the hundredth one she's received today. Instead of shooting her a dirty look like she had the others, her eyes dropped to the floor, as if she didn't want to look at Jo while she was like this.

She followed Jo's soft footsteps out into the living area, coming to a halt at the island of the kitchen where Josh sits across the way from her in a barstool. Jo took his side naturally, but Quinn braced herself against the opposite end to distant herself away. She didn't need his concerning gaze as well.

She watches Jo as she picks up a folded piece of paper, looking to Josh for a moment and then slides it to the middle of the island. Quinn looks at the paper quizzically. In bold letters at the top reads _"Tenant Lease Agreement"_ and then her gut drops.

Their lease was expiring, but not only is it expiring, if they were to resign the lease the rent is going up. "Oh, shit," Quinn whispers to herself. Jo sucks in a deep breath before pulling the paper away so she can focus on her. "We've lived together for how many years now?" Jo asks.

"About five years," Quinn answers meekly, shrugging her shoulders. She can see Josh holding onto Jo's hand, gripping it tightly for support. Something that she had done at one point when she would come home from a failed date or when she got her job at Starbucks.

"I don't know how to say this," Jo hesitates, as cheap smile coming across her face - a lame attempt she did to stop from crying. Josh whispers words of encouragement up to her, not loud enough for Quinn to hear but whatever she is going to say makes it hard for her to breathe.

"I've been seeing Josh for a while now, and we want to take things to the next level. I was thinking of moving in with him," Jo quickly rambles off. There's the nail in the coffin on today for Quinn.

On the outside she reacts fine, a small smile playing on her lips as she looks at the two but it feels like a bullet has gone straight through her heart. They weren't going to live together forever but it still hurts to hear her say she's moving on while she's stuck in the same place. Not to mention how much money she's going to have to shell out just for rent and her mother now.

Jo's lips are asking questions but Quinn cannot hear them, the world has become fairly fuzzy for her, she can't tell if it's from the tears that were starting to build up or if it was a side effect of how she was feeling today.

Jo crosses towards her but Quinn takes several steps back away from Jo to stay away from her touch. "That's great news for you, I'm happy for you, I-I really am," Quinn stammers out, after finding her voice. "But I really don't feel well, so I'm just going to go to bed if you guys don't mind," she tries to excuse herself while Jo states her name in protest.

She accidentally backs into Rudolph, who doesn't yelp or whine, he merely pants and looks up at her, tail wagging. She tries her best to not look at him. She wasn't supposed to get too attached to the damn dog but here she was about to spill over because she'd miss his dopey face.

"Congratulations!" she calls out to the couple before backing her way into her bedroom and firmly pulling the door shut. She can't even make it to her bed before she feels the tears start rolling down her cheeks. She slides down the length of the door, coming to a stop as she hits the wooden floor.

Her hands intertwine themselves around the back of her head and her knees pull close to her chest so she can bury her face. She felt happy for Jo, she was moving forward with her life like she had been pushing her to do but, she never realized it would hurt this much to let someone go.

It was like ending a relationship with someone. Or at least that's what it felt like to her. A five-year-long relationship, where you live in comfort with one another even if it's in silence, where the littlest things that one or the other does can make the biggest difference in the others day to day life.

They were there to cheer each other up when they felt down, they were there to lean on each other, help each other out. But Jo had found someone new to do that with. Why hadn't she? "What am I going to do?"

**_~BOOK ONE: THE WINTER SOLDIER~_**

**THE GOOD NEWS is that now** if she thought of Steve she didn't go into a state of anxiety on why he hadn't told her he was home. She couldn't focus on him anymore.

All she could think of was Jo abandoning her. Even though she wasn't technically abandoning her since she gave her notice, it still felt like that to her. Five years just went up in flames so fast. She tried to shake the thoughts of where Jo was completely ruining their friendship. She wasn't. She was just moving on.

If anything it was Quinn's fault for not moving on. She wasn't too big to admit that she was jealous of what Jo and Josh had. A shoulder to lean on, someone to protect and have them protect her. There was her small crush on Steve but she wasn't sure if it would be developing further since he was breaking their deal at the moment by not telling her he was home from a mission.

It was somewhat of a breach of trust. However, she couldn't help but picture herself with Steve like how Jo and Josh were.

If they were together and she had gotten that letter. Would they have moved in together? Would he be the one gripping her hand and whispering words of encouragement to her as she told Jo she was moving on with her life? Would he throw Jo concerned looks as she backed away with her mouth open like a fish out of water?

Quinn groans loudly as she places the pillow she was laying on over her face. She didn't know if Jo and Josh were even still here but she didn't feel like going out to the living room to check. She never wanted to leave this room.

If she stayed like this forever then nothing would happen, Jo wouldn't move out, she wouldn't have to say goodbye to Rudolph. She also wouldn't be able to talk to Steve or go to work or see her mother in the hospital and pay for her bills.

Two out of the four sound fine to her, but she wasn't ready to stop being friends with Steve. Or Jo for that matter. She perks her head out from under the pillow to look at the time on her phone: twenty hundred.

She tosses the pillow off of her face as she latches on to the phone. She sniffles as she unplugs it from its charger and rolls over to her side, scrolling through it until she finds Steve's name in the call log.

She hesitates for a moment, just staring at the name. Blair had said that he was in a bad mood today, that he was huffy, demanding to speak with Fury.

She pushes that aside and hits the green phone button anyway, laying her phone up to her ear and listening to the dial tone ring. It rang, and rang, and rang until his voicemail kicked in and told her to leave a message.

She quickly swiped the phone from her ear and ended the call, sighing heavily in the process and pressing her face down into her pillow again to let out a muffled, frustrated groan.

She'd try him again tomorrow if she didn't see him at work. She instantly remembers that Blair is off on a mission so she can't see him at work unless there's some sort of secret communication.

Suddenly her phone vibrates in her hand alerting her of a call. She raises her head her pillow quickly to see that Steve was calling her. Her heart leaps as she quickly flips over to her back and taps the green call button.

"Hello?" she answers. _"Hey,"_ his voice sounds out of breath on the other end of the receiver. _"I'm sorry I missed your call," _

Quinn sits up in bed, trying to find a comfortable way to talk to him on the phone. "It's fine," she answers shortly. "I was just calling to check on you. Blair said you had gotten in from your mission last night and I haven't heard from you. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay,"

_"Well, in laments terms, yes, I guess everything is okay. I'm okay if that's what you're getting at,"_

"Blair said you came in huffy and angry today,"

_"Did she now?"_

"She did," she trails off letting the line go silent on her end. It's silent for several moments before Steve decides to speak up. _"I'm sorry I didn't let you know, I was just...busy,"_

"You don't need to explain yourself," Quinn brushes off. "I was a little upset earlier but then I had to push it aside for worse news,"

_"What's that?"_

Quinn's jaw clenches at the thought of Jo leaving her alone once again, letting the line go silent. "I'd rather not talk about it right now," she explains in a low voice. It hurts her too much to even speak about it out loud to someone. How was she going to let Jo go? "So what'd you do all day?" she asks, trying to change the subject quickly.

_"Oh, you know,"_ Steve chides. _"I went to the Smithsonian, learned a lot about...me,"_ This makes Quinn chuckle a bit, something that she needed to do. She listens to him chuckle over the receiver as well. _"I caught up with...an old friend of mine, and I saw a new friend today. Now I'm standing in front of my apartment building speaking to you,"_

"You haven't been home all day? I can let you go," Quinn quickly states, feeling the heat of embarrassment spread across her cheeks. "I just wanted to talk to a friend besides...Jo,"

_"Are you guys in another pointless argument? Like the one that you guys had a few weeks ago? What was it over again?"_

"She took one of my shirts and used it to dye her hair in it, that was not a pointless argument,"

_"It sounded silly to try to end your friendship over,"_

"But it didn't,"

_"But it didn't,"_ Steve reiterates. _"So is whatever feud you guys are in right now going to be the end of your friendship?"_

"It's not really a feud," she answers, hopping out of bed and pacing towards her window to look out at the sky which was still fading to a deep black with stars just hinting at twinkling in the sky.

"It's more of a life decision, that I'm happy about yet sad and I didn't know how to handle it," she rambles before hesitating. She couldn't tell him what it was regarding, her mouth felt dry every time she tried to talk about it.

_"You'll figure it out then," _Steve replies. _"You have been best friends for years, you'll find a way to overcome whatever is happening because you care about each other,"_ he hesitates for a moment before speaking up again._ "Besides, if one of your worst arguments was about a t-shirt, I have faith that you'll figure this out,"_

Quinn hums out a slight chuckle at the silly fight that they had gotten into, how Steve was witness to the whole thing and then forced them to overcome it while he was present. That day he was the teacher and she was the student.

There's a searing pain in her head for a moment as she thinks of the memory between her and Steve. Once again her mind is starting to register Steve as a threat and here she was on the phone with said threat. "Can I ask you something?" she questions Steve out of the blue, taking him back but then his brows furrow.

_"Quinn, if this is _**_that_**_ question, we've been over this already, I don't know anything about area sixty-three. Besides you already know aliens exist,"_

"It's area _fifty-one_, and that's not what I was getting at but, okay," Quinn huffs out a sigh as she pinches the bridge of her nose in frustration as more flashes of Steve bring a threat runs through her mind. Her jaw is clenched so tight it feels as if it's going to snap as she opens her mouth to talk. "Would you ever put Jo or myself in danger?"

There's an audible scoff from the end of the receiver. She can't tell if she's offended him but there is a hesitance in the silence._ "I would never knowingly put either of you in harm's way,"_ he answers, sending a wave of relief through each one of her nerves that stood on edge. _"Especially you," _

Her breath hitches at his statement, a new kind of blush sets itself amongst her cheeks. Her nerves stood back up again, each feeling electric like a live wire.

_"Why? Did something happen?"_ his voice sounds defensive, interrogating, to say the least.

Quinn shakes the nervousness from her head, she didn't know when she had become too nervous to talk to him. "No, nothing happened," she answers quickly. "Just a strange thought, but I really should be getting to bed," she fakes a yawn, as she listens to Steve chuckle from the other side of the line.

She looks at her phone and then realizes that he's chuckling because it's so early to go to bed, she wants to slap herself but refrains from doing so._ "Goodnight, Quinn,"_


	25. CHAPTER XXV

**CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX**

**( **ROGUE ONE **)**

**"CAN I HAVE everyone's attention, please?"** Edith's voice beckons everyone's attention up at her all at once. The department was slow today, Quinn had just begun working on the last bit of code for her part of the new firewall for the update that was about to go live in the next couple of days or so.

Usually, they'd know what to call updates so they wouldn't get confused, however, Edith strictly said there was no name for this one yet and it would get its name once it had been released.

Something felt strange about it, but it's not like anyone would question her. Anyone who did would get humiliated, no one was in the mood for that.

Quinn tosses Dustin a confused look who does the same to her and then turn his attention towards Edith, who stood up on a chair. Something about the sight was off-putting to her. This wasn't usual Edith behavior, something was up.

It takes a moment for Edith to find the correct words as all eyes have turned towards her. It looks like she had been crying as she sniffles out an attempt to speak, Quinn's face grows concerned as she looks all over the office at the many faces who also wore the same expression, Dustin, Kara, Jack - everyone. "It is with a heavy heart," Edith begins with a sniffle that turns into a blatant sob.

Quinn's nerves are on fire with anticipation. Her eyes widen with worry. Was this about Steve? Did something happen to him? She had just spoken to him last night.

Anxiety floods her veins as she watches Edith sob. Quinn turns to look at her phone. No new texts from Steve nor Blair, Natasha or Clint, the three closest people to Steve.

Someone would have told her, even if none of them did Fury would've sent Agent Hill or someone to tell her. Yet she couldn't shake the thought of something bad happening to him.

Edith finally is able to compose herself in front of her department, apologizing for how she must look right now, earning a murmur in inquisitive questions. "It is with a heavy heart, that I must inform you, that Director Fury has been proclaimed dead by an assassination attempt," Edith informs the department.

Quinn's head absentmindedly tilts to the side in question. Fury was the most paranoid and vigilant individual she knew, yet somehow he gets assassinated. It didn't quite make sense to her. Quinn's mind quickly runs to Steve, she wanted answers.

"Director Fury was an amazing individual, who oversaw everyone's commitment to S.H.I.E.L.D. from Captain America to us down here," Edith continues. "He knew everyone's names, to their families, out of protection or out of pure familiarity I'm unsure but he'd always ask me how my kids were whenever I saw him...I never told him once I had kids but he knew,"

"That sounds unsettling," Dustin whispers over to Quinn, cracking a smile in the process while Quinn's face remained as stiff as a board, something she never seemed to do until a couple of days ago.

What Edith was saying was true. He knew about her mother, he knew about her brother and father, he knew about her law enforcement degree. She had thought it was because she told Steve all of this, and he partly acknowledged this by saying he watches the cameras, but it didn't seem far-fetched to her that he would look into everyone's backgrounds. He had the right to be obsessively paranoid.

She had a million follow up questions for Edith as she stepped down from the chair, but she already seemed so upset. It would be rude to even ask her. She could ask Steve but knowing how closely he worked with Fury he may be busy investigating or trying to find said assassin if they hadn't found him. She couldn't remember if she saw him enter the building or not today.

Usually, if they caught each other's gazes in the morning they'd nod at each other from a distance and continuing ignoring one another until they could talk in private. Something didn't settle right about the situation with her.

How could Fury be assassinated if he was always paranoid that he was being watched? He was the most secretive man she knew about and yet he slipped up and got assassinated? That didn't sound like the Nick Fury she encountered, the one that instilled fear into her heart. If Fury knew about everyone, why would he tell her that he knew everything about her from what she said to Steve? We're others just so careless just to tell their life stories here?

She knew Jack had kids and a wife but he wore that like a badge of honor.

Dustin? She knew absolutely nothing about other than what she sees at work.

Kara? She knew she was friends with Lillian now but she knew nothing about her otherwise.

Edith? She disliked Edith and tried to remain out of the loop with what's going on with her. But Edith knew about her mother, she had to inform her of that when she requested overtime. But did Fury tell her about her lessons with Blair? How every night Steve Rogers would to the department and sit at a desk and learn things from Quinn and watch her work sometimes?

Fury was a secretive person, how would he get assassinated so easily? Her hand instinctively latches on to her phone in her desk drawer, immediately going to her messages to talk to Steve.

If it was fishy to her, it was fishy to him, and unlike herself, Steve wasn't afraid to put himself in harm's way to get some answers. She hesitates as she stares at the screen of their former conversation, watching the cursor blink in the box as she tries to find the right words to get his attention.

She stops herself. If Fury was being watched, if he was assassinated so easily, who's to say that they're not watching Steve at this very moment? Fear courses it's way through her body, as she thinks of Steve getting assassinated.

Even though the next person in the pecking order would be Alexander Pierce, he should've been the first one, she had an odd feeling that whoever it was, they were going after Steve next.

Quinn places her phone in her back pocket, pushing herself hastily out if her seat, causing several eyes to look up at her. "I have to run to the restroom, I'm going to be sick," she excuses herself from the prying eyes of her co-workers and darts out the doors.

Edith's eyes remained locked on her as she exits the department quickly and into the hallway. Her lips press into a firm line as she heads down the hallway quickly, trying to seem as nonchalant as possible.

She freezes mid-step as her eyes connect with Blair's. She tilts her head to the side once again as she looks at her heading towards the restroom with a jerk of her head. Quinn swivels her head around to see a couple of other people in the hallway but none have paid her any attention.

She quickly follows Blair's lead and heads into the same restroom, bumping into her at the sink once again. "Hey," Quinn breathes out shakily. Blair doesn't acknowledge her until she checks all the restrooms and then paces over to the bathroom door to lock it.

"What's going on?" Quinn whispers as Blair turns towards her. "I thought you were on a mission,"

"Well, news of Fury getting assassinated is big enough to warrant an immediate return," Blair shrugs off. She grasps on to Quinn's arms, holding them down at her sides. "Listen to me, you're not safe," her voice is low and warning, her look is stern. "No one is safe, S.H.I.E.L.D. has been compromised,"

The statement is enough to make Quinn's blood run cold. S.H.I.E.L.D. was the most fortified intelligence agency known, and it had been infiltrated. "Compromised? By who?" she questions. Blair looks over her shoulder, as she hears voices pass by outside of the bathroom. "I'm not sure, we're still trying to figure that out?"

"_We're?_"

"Steve and I. Well, mainly myself, but he asked me to come find you to make sure you were okay and to be alert if anything happens," Just as Blair utters out the last few words the bathroom along with the hallway lights go off and instead start blinking with red lights as an alarm goes off.

"Like that," she huffs out before quickly heading towards the door to unlock it. "Stay behind me," she instructs Quinn as she takes out a handgun from the holster on the side of her catsuit. Quinn doesn't argue, she simply nods her head and follows as instructed as they exit the restroom. She can hardly put a single string of coherent thoughts together over the blaring alarms and strobing red lights.

"This is a threat level five lockdown. Please remain inside the facility until authorized otherwise," the voice over the P.A. instructs repeatedly. "Threat level five?" Quinn questions as they come to the end of the hallway where the stairs are. "Isn't that like super bad?"

"No, it means the ice cream man has come to pay a visit. Yes, it's bad!" Blair shouts as she kicks open the doorway to the stairs, pointing her gun at the stairwell and all around as they enter. Once she deems it's clear she places the gun back in her holster and begins running up the steps along with Quinn.

"So do you think it's them?" Quinn asks as they run up the stairs. Under lockdown, the elevators do not work, and there's usually an agent at every door to the compound but as they pass each floor Blair notices the lack of agents or security, ignoring Quinn's question.

Blair kicks the door in on the floor that leads to the main entrance, noticing a small group of people gathered by the front entryway but none of them had seemed to notice them. They were all looking out the window and thanks to the lack of agents haven't been instructed to seek shelter away from any threats.

Blair rolls her eyes as she paces towards the group staring out the window from the entryway, Quinn closely in tow. "Ladies and gentlemen," she announces her arrival, catching all of their attention. "This is a threat level five lockdown, please take shelter and step away from any windows," she instructs them, gesturing with her hands to step away from the window of the entryway.

A few step back but most remain glued to the window, frustrating Blair. "But Agent Norris," one of the individuals speaks up catching both of their attentions. "It's Captain Rogers,"

"What?" Both Blair and Quinn say simultaneously. Quinn pushes past Blair and the patrons standing by the window to catch a glimpse of what was happening on the bridge a half-mile away.

A quinjet hovers above one of the bridges of the parking structure where agents park at, shooting at none other than Steve. Quinn places a hand over her mouth to refrain from gasping as she watches the quinjet begin shooting at Steve on his motorcycle that looked tiny in comparison to the aircraft.

She watches idly by as he flips the motorcycle she's become so accustomed to hearing at the quinjet and jumping on top of it, using his shield to ricochet off the aircraft's engines and turbines. "It's like a frisbee," she whispers, hearing Blair chuckle from beside her.

"Yeah, it is, but we should probably go," she urges by yanking back on her arm, dragging her away from the window. "Will he be all right?" Quinn questions as Blair pushes her into the stairwell with her. "He'll be fine, trust me," Blair states, once again grabbing on to the sides of her arms. "But we need to get out of here, it's obviously not safe if they're claiming Rogers as a threat. Any ideas on how to get out of here?"

Quinn taps her hand against her lips as she thinks of a good way to get out of here while flying under the radar. They could take her car, get in touch with Steve somehow, find a way to take S.H.I.E.L.D. back, save the day. She winces as she realizes what she has to do. "Yeah," she states her tone sounding unenthusiastic.

"I need you to grab the staff from the gymnasium for me just in case we run into any trouble though and then I need you to meet me back here, give me like a half-hour," Quinn instructs Blair, as she shuffles to head down towards the I.T. level of the building. "Make it twenty!" Blair shouts after her as she starts to descend down the stairs with her thumb up in agreement.

Her head spins as she tries to catch her breath at the level the I.T. department was on. She can't find the right way to wrap her head around everything that's happening. Fury's death, S.H.I.E.L.D. compromised, Steve has gone rogue, if anything else happened today she would flip her lid.

She tries her best to compose herself as she exits to the stairwell to the I.T. level, a couple of agents that were sweeping the level look up at her in surprise. She innocently raises her hands above her head. "I had to make a phone call, I didn't want to leave the stairwell in case there was a threat," she lies, flinching in the process hoping to throw them off guard.

They ignore her and continue to sweep the rest of the hallway, she sighs at how easy they let her off. Perhaps they weren't doing their job right. She enters the I.T. department, all eyes on her, including Edith's. She ignores them all and heads to her desk to grab her purse and pack up her personal belongings.

She didn't care if anyone gave her questioning looks, in less than fifteen minutes Blair was going to bust down that door, guns hot if she didn't meet her in the stairwell. She couldn't stand to see anyone in here get hurt.

"Miss Cruise," Edith beckons her attention as she paces her way down the line of desks towards her. Just as she calls her name her phone vibrates from her back pocket, alarming her on an incoming call. She quickly pulls it out to see Steve's name come across the top.

"Edith give me a sec," she instructs her supervisor, her voice on edge. She can hear the sharp intake from Edith as she puts the phone up to her ear. Before she can even greet him, Steve speaks up. _"I need you to say __**'Hey mom, how are you?'**__ and excuse yourself from the room,"_ he instructs her. "Hey Mom, how are you?" she follows the order, giving Edith a tight-lipped smile and excusing herself towards the hallway, purse in hand.

"Hold on," she whispers over the line to Steve as she turns back towards Edith who stands with her arms folded across her chest glaring at her. "Edith I have to go, I have a... family emergency. I'm really sorry. Use my PTO if you have to. Bye!" she rushes out of the door, ignoring Edith's protests and threats of firing her on the spot if she doesn't come back to her station to explain herself.

As soon as the door shuts she tells Steve to go on. _"As you can see, I'm in a bit of trouble. I need you to meet me at the mall in thirty minutes. If you can meet me there, say _**_'That sounds great mom'_**_,"_

Quinn heaves the heavy door open to the stairwell, becoming out of breath just looking up all the flights she was going to have to climb up. "Gee mom, I don't know. Captain America just turned into a fugitive. It's going to be hard to leave unwatched in thirty minutes or less," she stresses as she begins her ascent towards the main floor where Blair was supposed to be waiting for her.

_"Stick with Norris, she'll make sure you guys get out of there undetected. Can you meet me?"_ his voice is urgent now, it sounds so desperate that it causes Quinn to stop dead in her tracks. She catches her breath before she responds.

"That sounds great mom," she heaves out as she continues her ascent, three more floors until she reaches Blair and they can get the hell out of there. _"I'll explain everything later,"_ he responds, but before she can even say goodbye the line disconnects.

Quinn shakes her head as she places her phone in her back pocket once again. "Rude," she breathes out from under her breath.

She huffs and puffs her way back to the floor that she's supposed to be meeting Blair on and comes in contact with her. She's sitting on the bottom step, staff enclosed in her hand. It was broken down to where Quinn could easily conceal it in her purse.

"You've got to work on the stair master," Blair teases, causing Quinn to roll her eyes as she digs in her purse for her keys. "We have to meet," Quinn hesitates for a moment, looking both up and down the stairwell just in case there were lingering ears listening in to their conversation. "My mom. She's at the mall," Quinn covers up, hoping that Blair would understand.

Thankfully she picks up what she's saying and nods her head in agreement. "Trade," Quinn demands tossing her keys into the air at the same time Blair tosses the staff towards Quinn. A small smirk plays on Blair's lips as she stands up and looks at the set of keys in her hand. "Let's go to the mall,"

* * *

**~A/N~**

**Just a little reminder that if you don't want to be left on a cliffhanger you can read the next chapter of this on Wattpad. Trust me, the next chapter is what we've all been waiting for ;)**


	26. CHAPTER XXVI

**CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX**

**( **THE MALLRATS **)**

**THE TIRES SCREECH to halt as** they enter the parking garage of the mall. Quinn clutches on to the bar above her head, along with the dashboard for dear life in fear of her safety. If the compromised S.H.I.E.L.D. agents didn't get to her first, Blair's driving would be the death of her.

She huffs out a sigh of relief as her chest heaves in ragged deep breaths. She thought they were going down for sure. Blair smacks her arm as she puts the car in park and hops out of the car, leaving Quinn to do the same. "My driving isn't that bad," Blair says her voice sounding insulted by how Quinn was acting.

All Quinn could do was merely groan in protest as she rounded the rear of her car next to Blair. She watches as Blair's fingers curl around the license plate and rips it off with a curt tug, leaving Quinn bug-eyed as she does so.

"Hey!" she shouts as Blair tosses the license plate away, it sputters to a stop underneath another car down the way. "We can't be traced, no doubt they're probably following us," she nonchalantly explains her actions with a short shrug.

Quinn narrows her eyes at Blair, mouth still agape as she points to her discarded license plate. "What kind of superhuman strength is that!" Quinn shouts, trying her best to wrap her head around what she had just witnessed. "Not superhuman strength, just abnormal since adrenaline is pumping," Blair shrugs off, grabbing Quinn by the shoulders and flipping her body to face the mall entrance.

"Focus and don't make a scene," she hisses under her breath, trying her best to look normal in her all-black attire - going so far as to slightly wave at passerbys in the parking garage.

Quinn turns her head back into the direction of her car, looking back towards the license plate and giving a small pout. She'd had that since high school. She grumbles to herself but feels the relief of the sweet air-conditioned mall as they step through the entrance.

Even though she's sure that no one in the mall was currently out to get her, her stomach twists in an awful way as she scans the mall, looking from person to person to see if they're a threat. Her hands become clammy as she follows Blair's lead.

She had never done anything illegal her whole life, she never dreamed that if she was caught fraternizing with Captain America she could get in serious trouble. Especially if S.H.I.E.L.D. was compromised, it's not like they'd hold her out in jail. It'd be a swift and effortless execution.

Her mind jumps to panic as soon as Blair leads them to a secluded side of the first level where the stairs were, with a mall full of escalators and elevators no one tended to use the stairs. That's why no one seemed to notice the small door underneath them that seemed to be forcefully unhinged.

Quinn tilts her head as she looks at the strange door along with Blair who is also examining the door. "Want to make a bet?" Blair coyly asks, a smirk growing on her face.

Quinn frowns and peers around the corner at a few groups of people that were milling about nearby. "No," she says flatly, causing Blair to let out a small chuckle. Quinn watches idly as Blair twirls over to the strange door and knocks on it a few times in a certain pattern before stepping back near Quinn.

The door opens, well, more or less falls off its hinges as Natasha and Steve stumble out of the tight closet. Steve tries his best to place the door back upright but it doesn't seem to work, he places it up against the frame and just leaves it, hoping it wouldn't fall and cause a ruckus.

"What were you two doing in there? Playing seven minutes in heaven?" Blair teases as Natasha strolls over to them. She smirks at the fidgety movement Quinn makes at the mention of the game. "Quinn," Steve's voice catches her attention, she raises her head up for a split second before she's being crushed by an enveloping hug.

It's so tight, she can hardly breathe but she wouldn't have it any other way. She smiles as she buries her face into the crook of his neck, attempting to wrap her arms around his shoulders. Tears threaten to overflow from her eyes as she tightens the hug.

This had been the first time they'd seen each other in a few days, and in that few days so much seemed to have happened, now he was on the run. If they couldn't stop this, there was no telling of when she'd be able to see him again without S.H.I.E.L.D. on their tail.

"Are you okay?" he questions her as he pulls away from the embrace, concern flooding his features. It brings a rosy hue to her cheeks but she doesn't try to hide it this time. "I'm fine. Are _you_ okay? You're a fugitive,"

He opens his mouth to answer but Natasha interrupts, pushing him out of the way. "We're fine, we just have very little time before S.H.I.E.L.D. sweeps the mall. No doubt they traced you," she begins only for Quinn to speak up. "But Blair ripped my license plate off, they shouldn't be able to track us that way,"

"Norris did _what_?" Steve's voice sounds incredulous as he crosses his arms and looks over to the agent who shrugs in reply. "That doesn't matter," Natasha once again regains her attention, clasping on to her shoulders. "There are cameras that S.H.I.E.L.D. is no doubt scanning for Steve's face, so our time is precious,"

"Then what are we doing here? Why are we in public?" Quinn hisses out in reply, eagerly looking out and around for any signs of danger but Natasha quickly pulls her head back to the secure location of the unused stairwell.

"I need you to focus on the task at hand," Natasha states firmly, her gaze becoming more and more irritated each time Quinn looked away. This time her eyes stayed glued on the fiery redhead who could probably lay her out in one hit if she wanted to.

"We need your help," she says, confusing Quinn as she digs into her hoodie pocket. As she pulls her hand out she reveals a small device, a USB, and displays it to her. "Fury gave this to Steve, told him to trust no one, we need your help decoding it,"

"_Me?_" Quinn asks, placing a firm hand on her chest. She had never been assigned to a project this big, she became even more nervous than what she already was. She could hyperventilate at any given moment.

"Quinn," Steve's voice catches her attention as he places his hand around her upper arm, forcing her to look up at him. His eyes are more encouraging than what she had expected them to be, she more or less thought they'd look like Natasha's at the moment. "You're an I.T., you're probably the best coder I've ever seen -"

"Steve, you don't even know what coding is, how are you going to judge me on that?"

"Well, it's not like Stark is answering," Natasha says coolly, earning a frustrated sigh from Steve. "Can you help us?" Steve questions once again, his voice now becoming more irritated than what it was before.

Quinn presses her lips into a firm line as she gazes up at Steve, she had never been under this intense of pressure before. Nor did she want to let Steve down. "I can try," she answers under her breath, before letting her eyes retreat to the linoleum floor.

Quinn listens as Natasha instructs Blair to keep an eye out on the bench for any agents who want to sweep the mall. She plays with the USB in her hand for a moment, biting down on her lip. She was about to go against everything she ever learned in school and help a criminal, even though she knew Steve would never be one in her eyes, he was still labeled in the system as a criminal. She could get in serious trouble for this. She could put her mother or Jo in danger.

She feels Steve's hand rest upon her shoulder once again, giving it a firm squeeze. She looks up at him and gives him a half-hearted smile, even though worry is ever-present in her eyes. "I believe in you," he encourages while placing a baseball cap and glasses on.

Glasses were the last thing she'd thought she'd see him in but if it was part of his disguise so be it. Natasha places the hood of her hoodie over her head and tosses a red jacket from the lost and found they dug up in the closet to Blair for her identity protection.

Quinn excuses herself from not needing a disguise, no agent knew what she looked like, and frankly, she doubts they would know anything about her relationship with Steve. Natasha smirks at the word relationship but Quinn quickly corrects herself to use the word friendship.

They walk out from the safety of the stairwell and into the public eye, forming somewhat of a small group between the four of them. "The first rule of blending in is to walk, not run," Natasha informs the group although Blair has already become accustomed to this method of blending in.

Quinn thought she was the only one she was instructing but Steve chimes in from beside her. "If I run anywhere my feet are going to come out of these shoes,"

This causes Quinn to somewhat chuckle, she couldn't tell if it was because she was under intense pressure and anything related to humor seemed funny to her or if it was genuinely funny.

"I hope you guys know that this is costing me PTO time," Quinn states, trying to lighten the mood from the ever-looming panic that they were all going through. "I'm sure you'll be compensated once everything is out," Natasha replies. Quinn's face scrunches with confusion. "Everything is out? What do you mean by that?"

Steve lets out an annoyed sigh. "I'll explain it to you later," he grumbles out. The pressure of this seemed to be getting to him. Quinn wonders if this is what he's always like on missions, although this wasn't technically a huge mission like he'd go on for S.H.I.E.L.D. or with the Avengers, there was still a lot at stake.

"What do you need your PTO for anyways?" Natasha questions, attempting to be personable during the high-stress situation. "_Natasha_," Steve hisses in a warning tone. He always hated when she didn't act appropriate on missions like she never took anything seriously.

"It's fine, Steve," Quinn assures him with a nonchalant tone. "Yeah, I'm multitasking," Natasha teases him with a wink as she passes him to be by Quinn, earning a glare from him. He was always the responsible one out of the team.

"I usually take time off to go see my mom in New York," Quinn finally answers her question, causing Natasha to laugh. "You're a mama's girl?" she teases, only to receive a panicked yet nervous smile from Quinn. "No, I just like to keep promises," she answers, her voice sounding in edge in the process.

She didn't like this, she knew Natasha had a way of getting under people's skin and learning everything about anyone and used it against them one way or another. A blackmail kind of deal. Steve could visibly see how uncomfortable this was making her and decides to push his way through and hold Natasha back with Blair. That didn't stop the assault of questions.

Natasha directs them towards an _Apple_ store, luckily there are benches outside of it so Blair can keep watch while being close by just in case anything happened. Quinn is surprised that people didn't recognize who Steve was even in his disguise as they entered the store, no one even batted an eye at him.

She shakes her head at the blatant disregard everyone was giving to them and heads over to a small laptop, similar to the one she had at home. Steve and Natasha flank her from both sides, keeping unwanted individuals attention away. "So your mom lives in New York?" Natasha begins the assault of questions once again, earning a grumble from Steve.

"Kind of," Quinn answers as she pulls out the USB drive. "It's a weird situation and you haven't earned enough credits to unlock my tragic backstory," Quinn teases, earning a small chuckle from Natasha. "And here I thought tragic backstories only applied to field agents," Natasha teases. Quinn bites her lip as she looks at the USB drive, giving out a sigh of worry.

"The drive will no doubt have some sort of security on it, once I plug it in they'll be able to trace us," she states in a low voice as she begins bringing up the laptop software. "How long do you think it'll take for them to get here?" Steve questions, his eyes scanning the crowd of people who were walking around the store.

"About nine minutes give or take as soon as I put the drive-in," she answers in a nonchalant tone, as she picks up the silver drive with the S.H.I.E.L.D. insignia on it. She runs her thumb over the insignia before placing it near the USB port. "I'm plugging it in now so be ready," she informs them, Steve gives a curt nod before drawing his attention to the crowd to make sure no one was looking.

Natasha calls to Blair over her commlink to tell her to be ready. Quinn inhales a deep breath as she places the USB in the slot on the second try, watching as black pop-up screens appear on the screen. She begins typing away trying to decipher whatever code that Fury had installed on this device.

She frowns as she tries to type in command over command only to watch the command disappear without a trace on the screen. She gives out a sigh of frustration, earning a worried look from Steve. "Whoever designed this drive was trying to hide something. There's an AI that keeps re-writing itself and keeps countering my commands," Quinn informs them, her fingers still typing away at the keyboard.

"Can you override it?" Steve questions, his voice low and close to her ear that she can feel his breath on her. It sends a shiver up her spine. If they had been under better circumstances she would've tried to make a move but his tone sounded more authoritative than anything. "Thankfully I'm a touch smarter than I appear to be, and I may be a touch smarter than whoever designed this," she replies with a smirk.

"I'm going to run a tracer, this is a program we recently developed to track hostile malware so even if we can't read the file we can find out where it came from -"

"Can I help you folks with anything?" A voice pipes up. Quinn's blood runs cold as she looks over to her left to see an Apple employee with a smile on his face and a large beard. She begins to stammer along with Steve until Natasha pushes her way over to Steve.

She encases his shoulders in a hug flashing the employee with a dazzling smile. "Hello, that's okay, my fiancé and I are just trying to find honeymoon destinations, his sister is helping us," Natasha lies effortlessly, causing Quinn to become envious on how easy she can do it.

"Yes, that's right, we're looking for honeymoon destinations, with my _sister_," Steve stammers. It was clear to see that he was never the one to go on missions where he had to spy, he was sent on ones where he would rescue people and fight the bad guys and return home. Natasha had more experience in this field.

"The power went out at my place, and my computer died. So I had to come here to show these lovebirds their honeymoon destination," Quinn adds, trying to throw off the retail associate and to show off that she can lie just as good as Natasha. Or at least try. "And rightfully to do so in public," Natasha speaks up with a giggle. "Because if we were alone I don't think I'd be able to keep my hands off him," Natasha's hands roam across his chest.

The motion, even though being for show, sets Quinn's blood on fire with jealousy. She gives off an annoyed cough to let Natasha know to stop touching Steve who undoubtedly was feeling uncomfortable as well.

Quinn kept returning her gaze back to the laptop where the pop-up displayed a map, which she was able to try to get the coordinates of where the A.I. was transmitting. Her eyes widen when they finally triangulate towards a state.

It's fuzzy at first but she recognizes that it's on the east coast near New York. "We were thinking of going somewhere tropical, like -"

"New Jersey," Quinn chimes in her voice filled with accomplishment, interrupting Natasha's act. The associate gives them both a strange look, as Steve turns back to look at Quinn and the screen. As he returns his attention back to the associate, he shrugs.

"No judgment here," the employee says with a small chuckle. Steve forces himself to chuckle as well. The employee narrows his eyes at Steve, causing Quinn to panic for a moment as Natasha quickly comes to her side to reassure her and to look at the map. "I have the same exact glasses!" the employee points out, snapping his fingers and pointing at the glasses placed on Steve's nose.

Steve nervously smiles in response, trying his best to take a step back away from the employee, a sheepish blush appearing on his face. "You're practically twins," Natasha schmoozes, looking over her shoulder at the two.

The associate laughs at the compliment, Steve also forces out an uncomfortable laugh. "I wish," the employee pants out before sizing up Steve. Quinn has to bite the inside of her cheek to refrain from laughing. "If you need anything, my name is Aaron," the employee states before leaving them alone and letting all three of them relax.

Steve finally is able to lean in and take a look at the screen, eager to see where exactly they're going to be headed. The color drains from his face as he looks at the exact location. Wheaton, New Jersey. "You know the place?" Natasha questions after seeing Steve's unsettled expression harden. His jaw clenches before he answers, "Used to."

Quinn looks up at him with worry in her eyes as she can see his eyes filled with sorrow. It's like he had been told that a puppy had died randomly. Her lips purse as she takes the drive out, letting the computer screen fade to black completely, drawing Steve out of his trance.

She places the hard drive in Natasha's hand, where she watches her place it in the pocket of her hoodie before looking up at Steve. He gives her a small reassuring smile, before pressing his hand on the small of her back, urging her to leave the store.

As soon as they do, Blair nonchalantly shoots up and begins walking in the same direction as them. "Figured it out?" Blair questions as the group begins to walk away from the Apple store. "Kind of, get ready for a road trip," Natasha answers taking the lead.

Quinn has trouble keeping up with how fast Steve and the rest of the group were walking. Her foot gets caught on a crack in the floor, causing her to skip forward and bump into Steve who grasps on to her to steady her. "We're lying low, you can't draw attention to us," Blair hisses as she passes the two.

Quinn bites down on her lip nervously, she honestly didn't mean to trip - it's not like she had a choice. Steve's grip on her tightens to assure her it's okay, a warm smile on his face. It hurts her to feel him pull away from the awkward embrace she had thrown them into.

A small blush lines her cheeks. She shakes her head to clear her thoughts of running away with Steve and how this would be the perfect time to do it. There was no way he would run from a fight, and neither would she.

As she catches up with the rest of the group she hears Blair mutter that they have company. Quinn looks up at Steve with worry as his face turns stone-cold while he looks around discreetly. "Standard tact team, two behind, two across, two straight ahead," he informs the group in a low tone, each of them lowering their eyes to the ground.

Quinn's blood runs thick with panic. If she gets caught then it's over, and knowing that S.H.I.E.L.D. was compromised and these agents were working against them she was sure they'd be happy to make it seem like she disappeared without a trace. She can hardly pay attention to anyone as the pace of her heartbeat begins to quicken.

"If they take us I'll engage and you guys take the south escalator all the way to the metro," Steve instructs the group as they begin to near the first set of two agents.

Blair tugs on Quinn's arm, pulling her back a few feet away from Natasha and Steve. She forces her to quickly turn into a clothing wrack that was strewn up outside of a store. "Just do what I say," Blair warns her as she pretends to start picking out clothes from the wrack.

Nervously, Quinn nods her head. She can feel the sweat building up on the back of her neck. "Quick, laugh at something and then turn into the wrack," Blair instructs her. Even though her heart was in her throat as she laughed.

It wasn't a normal laugh, it was obviously forced for her but to people who didn't know her, it seemed real. Her eyes widen as she sees the two agents clad in all black pass by without care to even look over at them.

Quinn wants to let out a sigh of relief but she knew there were a dozen others in the mall that were just as threatening and could be headed their way. Blair grabs a hold of her wrist and pulls her towards where Natasha and Steve were last seen.

Her heart falters for a moment as she notices Steve's arm around Natasha. Was something going on between them? Quinn didn't like the small pang of jealousy that hit her as she knew that it was probably only for them not to be noticed.

They didn't necessarily run to catch up but walking at a fast pace while looking leisurely looking around like a tourist seemed to get them up to speed as they were able to finally meet with them on the second floor. "How do we get out of here?" Quinn asks, her nerves getting the best of her. "I have Jo to get home to, she'll be worried if I don't come home," Natasha shoots her a glare from over her shoulder, letting her know to lower her voice. She couldn't help it, she was panicked. "I'm figuring that out as we go," Steve informs her as they begin to approach the escalators back down to the first floor. "We've given them somewhat of a runabout, if we lay low we can get to the car garage, get a car, and go to New Jersey,"

"I can't go to New Jersey," Quinn protests, only to be hushed by him as they climb on to the escalator. Her heart rushes as she sees an agent on the opposite escalator, they were bound to meet in the middle at some point. Her knees begin to tremble at the sign of danger.

Natasha turns around and looks between the two of them. "Kiss," she demands, throwing both of them off guard, both of their cheeks turning a heavy shade of red. "What?" Steve questions, rubbing the back of his neck nervously just as Quinn says, "Pardon?"

Natasha rolls her eyes as she looks between the two of them standing awkwardly above her. "Public displays of affection make people feel uncomfortable," she states. Quinn shifts uncomfortably, she could barely wrap her head around what was happening and now she was being instructed to kiss Steve. They were friends. It would ruin them.

"Yes, it does," Steve replies, his voice curt and cold as if he didn't want to do it. Natasha narrows her eyes at Quinn, watching her fidget under her gaze. "Either you kiss him or you kiss me," she coyly states. Quinn's lips press into a firm line as her brows furrow, feeling as if she were to kiss Natasha that would only draw spectation from the many wandering eyes who was into that kind of thing. Natasha wasn't an option.

Her gaze then finds its way to Steve who is already looking down at her, his eyes looking towards her with an almost pleading look. If she didn't know better she'd have thought he wasn't opposed to the idea. "Let's just do it," he mumbles out under his breath, causing Quinn's face to become a vibrant shade of red.

She tries to stammer out a positive reply but she can't form any words, finally huffing out a sigh and closing her eyes. She nods her head as she bites her lip, only gazing up at him to see his normally serious face turning a slight pink.

Within a moment's notice, and before she can even process what to do next, Steve's hands are on either side of her cheeks, cupping her face upwards to meet his lips. A warm wave of pleasure washes over her body. It was like she was in need of this the whole time. She notes that his lips are surprisingly soft as he holds on to her cheeks. She can't even think of anything else, only that she was kissing Steve.

She pulls back hesitantly, looking into his eyes to see if she had just made a mistake. Her brows furrow as she bites down on her bottom lip to stop herself from smiling. First things first, they were friends. Secondly, he had expressed that he was not interested in doing anything related to romance ever since he left the ice.

His eyes look confused at first, almost as if they were hurt as she pulled away without warning. She wants to hit her head against the wall, she had definitely messed up somehow. She didn't want this to affect their friendship. "Well that was steamy," Blair teases from behind in a coy tone, a smirk playing on her lips.

Quinn let's out a sigh of frustration as she steps off the escalator behind Steve and Natasha, thankfully they had gone undetected by the agent on the escalator. She stays a few paces behind Steve, her eyes locked on his figure as he marches towards the entrance. She thought she had a small kindling of a crush but now she knows she's done for, it had developed into a raging fire of wanting him to be with her.

She shouldn't be thinking that way about Steve, she couldn't drag him into her life. He knew about her problems, he would be repulsed by her.

They follow Steve out into the parking garage where they don't find any signs of agents or any other danger. Their footsteps echo as they follow Steve's lead. He brings them to a stop at a pickup truck, where he easily picks the lock of the driver's side, not even alerting the alarm.

Quinn raises her brows in surprise as she watches him rip off the underside of the steering wheel as playing with the wires. Natasha easily slides into the passenger seat, while Steve continues to hotwire the car, unlocking the back door to let Quinn and Blair hop in.

Quinn's stomach is still knotted as she places herself behind Natasha in the back, trying her best to avoid looking over at Steve as the wires spark the engine to life. "Are we all headed to New Jersey?" Blair questions as Steve hops into the driver's seat, buckling himself in. Quinn bites her lower lip as she thinks of the danger she's putting herself in. She had to keep her promise.

It's silent for a moment as he begins to drive away from the mall, leaving the danger behind along with Quinn's car. It feels as if everyone had let out a collective sigh of relief. "Not everyone," Steve breaks the silence with his answer, his eyes connecting to Quinn's in the backseat.

She hears Blair scoff from beside her. "I've trained her, I think she can handle herself," she protests, sticking her neck out for Quinn. "I was thinking about dropping her off in New York first or at least close to it, to be with her mother. It's the least we can do since we drug her into this," Steve nobly states, his voice firm and authoritative. "She can come to Jersey first -" Blair tries to stick up for Quinn only to be interrupted by her.

"N-no," she stammers out, earning a questioning look from Steve in the rearview mirror, along with Blair. "I-I have to warn my roommate, tell her it's not safe to stay in the loft,"

"Absolutely not, you're putting your safety at risk -" Steve objects, using the same authoritative tone that she was subtly becoming accustomed to. "I'll be fine. Who cares about my safety anyways?" Quinn argues.

"I do!" Steve raises his voice, catching everyone in the truck off guard with how loud he had gotten. Even Natasha raises her brows in wonder. He didn't get worked up this easily, how was she able to get under his skin like this?

His foot becomes like lead on the gas pedal, speeding up at the thought of Quinn being in danger and there was nothing he could do about it. "I think she'll be fine," Natasha speaks up, earning a sideways glare from Steve. "Besides it's not like we have much time to argue about who's going and who's staying, and we don't know if we're endangering her by taking her with us if that's your concern. Drop her off and we'll head to Wheaton,"

"We can't just -"

"Steve," Natasha interrupts him, her tone more serious than it was before. "She's an innocent bystander that we drug into this. Let her go home,"

Steve's eyes connect with Quinn's momentarily in the rearview mirror. He becomes filled with guilt as he sees her eyes filled with panic and distress that all of this is causing her. He didn't want to bring her into a constant state of fear but he had and as long as she's with them that's all she'd be living in.

He hated to admit that Natasha was right and he hated leaving Quinn behind. Steve lets out a frustrated sigh and begins to cross lanes to bring her home.

_**~ BOOK ONE: THE WINTER SOLDIER ~**_

**QUINN**** HOPS OUT of the truck** with a slight ache in her ankle. She winces as she grabs on to it, trying to massage away the pain. She must've sprained it when she tripped over the tile at the mall.

All the running around and keeping up with three S.H.I.E.L.D. agents didn't help either, it put more stress on it. As she grumbles to herself she notices Steve's large stature rounding the front of the truck to come talk to her or help her. She wasn't clear on his intentions. All she knew was that he wasn't exactly happy with her decision to stay behind. The tight-lipped frown that rested on his face confirms it as well.

"I'm sorry -" she begins to speak only to be interrupted by him.

"Make me a promise," he simply states, his voice still in its authoritative state.

Her brows raise at this demand. She had never seen him act this way before. Perhaps it was because they were in danger and their time was pressed. She nods her head once as she stares up quizzically at him.

"Promise me that you'll be safe and that you'll go to New York as soon as you get Jo and Rudolph out of the loft," his hand wraps around hers and squeezes it. She wasn't sure if it was because his nerves were shot from being on the run or if this had something to do with their forced kiss at the mall.

Either way, she wouldn't back out on his promise. Jo needed her and so did her mother. Now he needed her too. "I promise," she responds lightly, squeezing his hand back in reassurance and forcing herself to smile even though she wanted to cry.

She didn't know if she'd ever see him again after saying goodbye. What was going on was dangerous and it seemed like something that all of the Avengers should be doing together not just Steve and Natasha. Their odds were outnumbered. It shook Quinn to the core but she remained calm while being in his presence.

She lifts herself up on her tiptoes and leans to press a peck on his cheek, something that catches him off guard. "Promise to come back," she whispers out, watching his cheeks turn a vibrant pink as his eyes widen with shock. She looks towards the pavement in embarrassment for a moment. Perhaps it was too soon of her to give him a peck on the cheek since they were forced to kiss at the mall.

Undoubtedly she had feelings for him but she knew he wouldn't have any for her, she didn't understand why she was putting herself out there for a painful rejection. Her eyes tingle as she feels tears start to well up. She blames her stupidity for whatever she was about to go through with their friendship.

He lets out a soft chuckle and engulfs her in his arms, holding her tightly against him. At first, her body is stiff as she's caught off guard by his action, but she quickly melts into the hug and wraps her arms around his waist. She can hear his heartbeat rapidly within his chest as he places his cheek on top of her head. "I promise," he says, she can hear the smirk in his voice.

They're both reluctant to let go of one another as Natasha proceeds to honk the horn of the truck, alerting them that it was time to move on. Quinn gives Steve one more reassuring smile before he hops into the truck.

Quinn rounds to the passenger side of the truck where Natasha rolls down her window to give her a small smirk. "Be careful," Quinn urges the agent who hums in response. "You too, look out for yourself," she states before Steve shifts the truck into drive.

Quinn stands behind the truck, waving goodbye as she watches them speed off towards the exit. She wonders if Steve even looked back to wave goodbye as well, or if he felt mournful that he was leaving her. She knew she felt empty watching the truck leave.

Even though the danger put her on edge she still lived for the thrill, and she couldn't help but to still be in some sort of a trance from the touch of Steve's lips on hers. All that ran through her mind was the way her body became electrified like a live wire as they kissed, the sense of tingling still rang vividly through her mind.

If only she could've explored the feeling a little longer with Steve and without the company of Natasha and Blair or the imminent threat of danger lingering around them. She sighs dreamily as she unlocks the door, unprepared to be thrown into the harsh reality of the real world.

She hadn't spoken with Jo since she announced she was moving out. Even though she had been reassured by Steve that they would get through this, confronting her still seemed terrifying to her. But what was even more terrifying was the thought of compromised agents coming into their home and endangering Jo.

"Jo!" she calls out into the loft in a worried tone, swinging the door haphazardly open. She had hoped she would be home, she wouldn't have to work today. She thought she'd be packing with Josh. Her senses heighten when she notices the lack of sound within the loft.

If Jo wasn't home, then Rudolph would be here, at her feet, dancing happily that someone was home. Her stomach flips uneasily as she enters further within the loft, calling out for Jo once again.

Panic was starting to rise in her voice. She didn't have time to go out and find her. "It's nice to see you again," a voice calls out from behind her, making her jump in fear. Her heart clamors in her chest as she spins around to see Alexander Pierce along with a masked man and a few other agents.

Her head spins as if she was having Deja Vu, then her world comes crashing down as she sees Jo and Rudolph laying down on the love seat, bound to one another. Not one of them showing any signs of consciousness. "Jo!" Quinn calls out to her, rushing forward to her, only to stop once she hears the sound of a gun being cocked.

She stops midstride and places her hands up by her sides slowly. She eyes Pierce, tears starting to line her waterline. "What do you want?" she breathlessly asks, trying her best to control her tears. Showing someone that you were terrified went against everything Blair had taught. She was surprised her voice came out clearly without a crack or stammer.

"Have a seat," Pierce instructs her, gesturing to the couch in front of him. Quinn slowly steps over towards the couch, making sure not to make any fast movements to trigger any agents from shooting her. She couldn't die just yet, not with the people she loved in danger. "You have a nice loft, I see your friend is packing up. Are you moving?" Pierce tried to lighten the conversation.

Quinn hesitates with answering, her hands still shaking and they stick out from her sides in surrender. "She's still alive if that's what you're wondering," Pierce shrugs, pacing towards Jo who lay on the loveseat, looking down at her still face.

"What do you want?" she questions, getting straight to the point. Her voice trembled a bit but it still held a low rumble of rage. Seeing Jo in harm's way due to her being careless made her irritated with herself. "Obviously, I want to know where Rogers is,"

"How would I know?" Quinn answers defiantly, tossing a glare up at the Undersecretary. "Please, cut the shit," Pierce states, rolling his eyes. "We know you've been seeing Rogers outside of work. He trusts you, so did Fury. So where is he?" As he finishes his statement Quinn hears, yet another gun cock and then feels the cool metallic muzzle of a gun pressed against the side of her head.

She wants to cry out in fright, she wants to burst into tears in front of everyone but her face still holds it's hard and cold expression. "I don't know," she bites out. It felt as if she was choking on the words as they formed within her mind, what made her spit them out was nothing but pure anger and spite.

She couldn't betray Steve, not for the greater good, and if she died this way she knew she'd go out holding his location a secret and not giving them what they wanted. She braces herself for the loud sound of the gun and the stinging sensation of a bullet to cross through her skull and yet she feels nothing. Nothing but hesitance.

She hears Pierce huff out a sigh of frustration before she opens her eyes to look up at him, pinching the bridge of his nose. The agents were waiting for his order to place a bullet in her head and yet he was thinking? "Agent Reeves?" Pierce beckons one agent, the barrel of the gun restrained her from looking anywhere but in front of her.

She didn't want to take any chances. She does feel a presence place itself beside her, judging by the squishing on the cushions beside her. She cringes, hoping that they wouldn't do anything incredibly horrible to her like rip her nails out or any other form of torture.

Instead, she hears the agent speak in a foreign language. Russian was the language. For some reason, she could understand exactly what he was saying but she had never learned the language before. Her head feels dizzy and woozy as she listens to the agent repeat several words over and over again. Then her world goes dark.


	27. CHAPTER XXVII

**CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN**

**( **THE WINTER SOLDIER **)**

**BLAIR'S**** EYES STAY glued on the** highway in front of her. Sitting in the middle seat gave her the full advantage of being the backseat driver, however, it did come with it's cons.

Being on the run for a couple of days now, Blair has encountered more than what she had signed up for. A never ending road trip to New Jersey (yuck). Getting buried underneath the remains of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s first official base after finding out S.H.I.E.L.D. had been infiltrated by Hydra - a group that she thought was extinct. Crashing at a random persons house, he calls himself Sam - allegedly he and Steve were friends outside of work. Hijacking an army base for some bionic wings for random guy. And threatening S.H.I.E.L.D. authority - Jasper Sitwell. All to land in the backseat of a Chevy Malibu, driving towards a Hydra compromised S.H.I.E.L.D.

As if the past few days haven't been rough enough. "Can you not ride this guy's ass?" Blair's tone is mildly annoyed as she comments on Sam's driving. His hands grip the steering wheel harder as if he was trying to refrain from snapping back at her. "Blair," Steve warns in his mission tone - a term that Blair had coined as cold, hard, and authoritative. She smirks up at him, giving him a fake salute while rolling her eyes afterwards. She didn't want to be in this situation, she would much rather be off on her own like Quinn.

However, this was the fastest way to finding the alleged Winter Soldier that Natasha had informed her had killed Fury. Hopefully it was the same Winter Soldier who had once paid her family a visit. She shakes her head trying her best to clear her thoughts of her last. She couldn't let it get to her now. She was renown for not showing any remorse and staying completely emotionless when it came to her mission. Whether she liked it or no this was a mission.

A fast motion from the corner of her eye distracts her, almost beckoning for her attention. It's Sitwell. He keeps whipping his head from side to side, looking out of each window at the cars passing by. Whether he's looking out for danger or trying to flag down an innocent bystander to help him is unknown. Her hand instantly finds itself gripping firmly around his kneecap, causing him to squeak in pain as her nails dig into the fabric of his pants leg.

"What are you looking at, Sitwell?" she questions, her voice calm and cool. She doesn't even break eye contact from looking out the front window as Sitwell writhes in pain from the irritating sensation. When he doesn't answer promptly, her finger nails dig further in, causing him to thrash around in the backseat. Her grip doesn't let up until Steve commands her to stop in a threatening tone.

Annoyed, Blair rips her hand away from Sitwell, eyes scanning the infamous captain. "He keeps looking into other cars, he could be drawing their attention," she explains her actions. Sitwell let's out a groan before wryly laughing. Sweat beads off his shiny forehead as he glares at the agent.

"I'm not flagging anyone," he attempts to defend himself. "Hydra hates leaks," he trails off. Sam scoffs at him from the driver's seat, his hands gripping the steering wheel tighter. "Then why don't you shove a cork in it?" his voice sounds unamused, it sounds like he's scolding a child. Natasha pushes her way over Blair's lap to look between the driver and passenger's seat where Steve resided. "They're launching in sixteen hours, we're cutting it a little close," she tries to urge Sam to drive faster while stating their impending doom if they didn't succeed.

No doubt their heads were on the list for Insight. "I know," Steve states. "We'll use him to bypass the DNA scans and access the helicarriers directly,"

"You know who could've helped override the DNA scans?" Blair asks coyly, smirking at Steve in the rearview mirror.

Steve let's out a gruff sigh as he thinks about Quinn, who was no doubt what Blair was talking about. This whole time she had been stating it was silly to get rid of her so early in the mission. It's true they could've used her at Camp Lehigh, and to retrieve Sam's wings from Fort Meade. But her safety was involved and he had made her a promise that he would never purposely endanger her. He intended to stick to it.

"You know what, Norris," he mutters under his breath as he listens to her breathy chuckle. She knew how to hit him in the nerve that hurt the most. Meanwhile, Sitwell let's out another wry laugh. "Are you crazy? Using me to infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D.? That's a terrible idea -"

Sitwell's discouragement is cut short as a metal hand breaks through the glass window where he had perched himself. The hand wrapped itself around Sitwell's collar, there's not a moment where anyone can blink as Sitwell is ripped out of the car and tossed like a ragdoll across the highway. Blair cringes as his body splatters against the front end of a semi on the opposite side of the highway. The sound of his screams still ring in her ears.

She doesn't have time to process everything that has happened just yet, her body sinks to the floor for cover as bullets begin to enter the car from the roof. Natasha passes above her, climbing into the front seat as she caresses Steve head, narrowly avoiding a bullet to collide with his skull.

Blair can see the prints of where the attacker has steadied himself on the top of the car. Using most of her strength in the small confinement between the seats and the floor, just musters up enough force to kick her legs up and pound against the top of the car where the attacker stood.

It knocks him off balance for a moment, Steve grabs ahold of the emergency break stopping the car immediately, throwing the attacker off and onto the highway. They all watch out of the windshield to see the attacker with the infamous metal arm, skid to a halt, unharmed and unphased as to what just happened to him.

Blair's eyes widen as she locks her eyes on to the unmistakable metal arm with a red star brightly painted near his shoulder. She had dismissed him as a myth after all these years. Her teeth grind together as she glares at the man. The Winter Soldier. "Is that -" she begins only to be surprised when Natasha starts shooting at him through the windshield.

She can see the tears starting to sting her eyes with each shot. Suddenly, a force strikes them from behind with enough force to get the car moving once again, unwillingly. Out of the side mirror Steve can see a black S.H.I.E.L.D. SUV pushing them along. Blair's eyes widen once again as she realizes the distance between The Winter Soldier and the car is growing smaller and smaller.

"Turn the wheel!" she screeches, leaning over the center console. She grips the steering wheel as Sam does the same. "I'm trying!" Sam shouts back. In a moment's notice, The Winter Soldier is flying high above the car, making Steve and Natasha very aware the newfound danger as Blair and Sam bicker amongst themselves.

Natasha leans back from Steve's lap, trying to fish for her gun that had splayed from her hand as the impact from the SUV. Her fingers barely scrape the top of the muzzle, before there's a crashing sound dangerously close to them.

Blair let's out a shriek as The Winter Soldier clamps down on to the steering wheel from the windshield and rips it off the hinges like it was nothing. "Shit!" Sam curses, brushing the glass off his lap. The distraction was what Natasha needed as she dips further down and whips her gun in her hand, shooting at the top of the roof aimlessly.

The weight of the assassin leaves the roof of the car, along with the pressure of the SUV for a moment. "What's the plan!" Blair shouts over the dying car, it had gotten so loud from the scraping metal against the highway. The rounds of bullets from Natasha's gun hadn't helped her hearing as well. The force of the SUV strikes them once again.

Each one of them looks to Steve for guidance, their eyes pleading with panic. He grabs a hold of his shield and nods his head at them. They all seem to get the gist as Blair crosses on to the center console beside him. "Hold on!" he shouts as he clamors to grab a hold of Blair and Sam from the distance they were at.

As the SUV rams into them once again, Steve opens his door, allowing all four of them to fly out of the car with only the door and the shield to protect them from the solid concrete beneath them. He loses his grip upon the second impact, sending Sam and Blair sputtering to a halt on the highway, while he and Natasha glide across the smooth surface, sparks igniting from the metal.

Thankfully, Steve's plan buys them all enough time to recover from the brutal blow of landing on the highway. Blair shakes her shoulders, as they begin to ache with pain. She's now thankful Quinn didn't tag along, she wouldn't have been able to handle this. Thankfully her gun was still placed in her holster on her hip. She thought for sure that would've gone from that impact.

She peers across the highway to see everyone spread out, she was the closest to the highway guard. A wave of relief floods her as she realizes that she could've gone over the short concrete railing and landed on the street below. She crouches below a black car, close to her as she see The Winter Soldier stand up with a grenade launcher, targeting the team.

She watches as the grenade launcher launches directly for Natasha who was still recovering from the fall. Steve jumps in front of her, pushing her out of the way from the explosion, his shield up, waiting for the impact of the weapon. The grenade successfully lands smack dab in the middle of his shield, protecting himself and Natasha from the fiery explosion. However, the impact from the explosion sends his body flying off the bridge, propelling his body into a bus on the ground.

The air from Blair's lungs escapes as she watches this cause a bigger accident involving a semi to hit the bus. People below are starting to scream from the chaos. She turns to look at Natasha from over her shoulder, with a nod from her she jumps the bridge. She wishes she was as strong as the insanely strong Avengers and just land on her knee with the impact of a small asteroid, but she's human.

She launches a grappling hook from her wristband, slinging down to the ground safely. Civilians have started to gather on the street looking up at the highway at all the gunfire, along with the recent crash. Humans were always drawn to danger, their curiosity always got the better of them. She rolls her eyes as she begins sauntering her way over to the street corner where people were gathering.

"Somebody please call the emergency services!" she yells out in an authoritative tone. "And please seek shelter away from the gunfire! The situation is under control! Somebody does need to contact the emergency services for these people!" she explains pointing over to the bus, where she begins to pick up her speed.

She hops on top of the bus, trying to pry at the automatic doors. Her grip is too sweaty and not strong enough to even budge the doors apart no matter how much effort she put into it. She knew she had to get these people out. It was only a matter of time before Hydra turned their attention to her.

She quickly hops down from the side of the upturned bus and rounds to the front of it. She assesses the windshield for a moment as people are screaming from the inside, at the very back of the bus, laying face down is Steve. She rolls her eyes. He's the reason these people are going nuts. She turns her back on the bus for a moment, walking away as she hears the people inside panicking. She runs a hand over her face as she turns.

Her eyes narrow at the window as she begins to run full force at the bus. She slides on to her side, wincing at the pain of glass entering her side as she kicks the window, breaking it open. She's able to slide all the way inside, freeing everyone from the confirms of the overturned vehicle. She lays on her side as people pass her, trying to haul themselves away from the mess.

She bites the inside of her cheek as she tries to hide a whine from escaping. A hand moves absentmindedly down to her side that she was laying on, cradling the spot that caused the most pain. As she shakily withdrew her hand, it was coated in a thick maroon substance. Blood. "Ah, god," she whines, grinding her teeth together in pain.

She had felt worse but this was the first time in years that she had gotten injured on a mission. She had been so careless. "Blair?" Steve's voice croaks out from the other end of the bus. She lifts her head up just enough to see him start to stagger towards her before her head collapses back down on the metal inside of the bus with a whine.

Steve makes his way over to her, scanning her features. She was obviously hurt and in distress. She cradled her right side, where he noticed a small pool of blood was starting to form. Although his vision was a bit hazy from the impact he still knew they were in danger. "Come on," he urges her, sticking out his hand for her to take.

Her eyes refuse to even open to look up at him even though she desperately wants to, the pain is too blinding. Then the familiar sound of bullets whizzing by hits her ears, she sits up narrowly avoiding a bullet-headed straight for her. Although her side protests in her getting up, she forces herself to take Steve's hand and run with him.

They don't go for the front of the bus, Steve leads her towards the back where he breaks free of the emergency door. He forces her to go first as he runs for his shield, quickly grasping on to her shoulders and squatting her down next to him behind the shield where bullets ricochet off. "Follow my lead!" he shouts at Blair, who's face is becoming paler by the moment.

She nods her head once before pulling a gun from her holster. She cocks it and sticks it out from the side, firing at random as they proceed forward. It's faint but she hears the agents that are shooting at them falling one by one. She knows it isn't just her.

Steve forces their footing to fall behind a car that had been abandoned by a civilian who was getting caught in the crossfire. Even as they were getting shot at Steve rests Blair down behind the car, she winces in the process. "I'll be right back. Stay put and for the love of everything don't die," he directs her.

An order that she doesn't refuse as she can feel sweat start to build upon her brow. She never thought she'd die like this. She always pictured it doing something grandeur and further down the line. Not here. Not now. Not against orders.

Steve inches his way around the car, before running full force at an agent perched upon a car. He takes his shield and knocks him off balance before he flips over him and takes him down, splaying him flat on his back. He slides off the back of the car, trying to avoid any oncoming bullets.

He's caught off guard when he here's bullets from above firing back at the assault. His gaze lifts upwards to see Sam with a rifle in his arms. "I got this, go!" he shouts down to Steve, as he begins firing once again. Steve nods once before taking off towards Blair. As he rounds the car his stomach drops as he sees a pool of blood from where she sat. His eyes linger on the trail that followed where most civilians were evacuating. He groans to himself. She had gone off to find Natasha while injured. He sprints in the same direction of the blood trail, in hopes of finding both of them.

Blair pants as she slides her back down the side of a white van, leaving a trail of blood on the side. She had finally caught up with The Winter Soldier. His presence loomed within the middle of the street, searching for Natasha it seemed. Just looking at him sent a chill down her spine, and made her legs feel like jelly. She quietly cocks her gun once again, peering cautiously from the side of the van as he strolls through the street, grenade launcher casually strewn across his shoulder.

She has to swallow her fear and replace it with a fake confidence as she steps out from behind the van, armed and aimed at his head. She fires, catching him off guard as the bullet grazes his only flesh shoulder. He quickly turns around, firing a grenade in her direction. She quickly leaps out of the way, falling on her bad side.

It makes her want to double over in pain but she persists by stumbling upwards. The pain is too strong for her body, she staggers before falling to the ground. She groans as she presses herself up against the wall, trying to keep her mind clear and focused but everything seems to be in a haze. She was losing too much blood. Her ears pick up on the sound of someone cocking a gun, and the familiar scent of hot metallic from the muzzle of a gun.

She opens her eyes to look up at the eyes of The Winter Soldier. She can't help but giggle at how menacing he was trying to look. His eyes hold a look of confusion as he looks at the giggling agent, standing on her last leg. "You're really not going to remember me?" she questions, her voice cracking under the exhaustion that was sweeping over her. "Do you remember my family? Do you remember when you found us?" she asks, smirking up at the assassin.

He presses the barrel closer to her head, only causing her to huff out a sigh in exhaustion. "Of course you don't," she mumbles. Before he can even pull the trigger, Blair tilts to one side, slumping down onto the cool pavement of the sidewalk. Eye closed, head throbbing, and breathing labored. She waits for the bullet to put her out of her misery, it feels like an eternity, but it never comes. She gains enough energy to look behind her where The Winter Soldier was lurking. Her eyes widen when she realizes no one is there.

Confusion spreads throughout her body as she gasps for air. Why would he spare her? A dreamlike state seems to seep into her mind, making her feel relaxed. Her vision fades to black as she hears the faint sound of an explosion further up the road.

Unknown to the now knocked out Blair, the explosion was caused by The Winter Soldier himself, trying to hunt down the renowned Black Widow. He's taken by surprise when she wraps herself around his shoulders, wire taut in her hands as she pulls it around his neck. The attempt to strangle the assassin has him clamoring backward, knocking them into a car. He easily flips her off his shoulders, sending her sputtering across the asphalt.

She recovers as she bounces off the ground, sending a shock disk flying. It latches on to his metal arm, sending an electric shock throughout the arm, seizing any motor control that he had in it. Natasha uses this time to bolt in the opposite direction of him, running back to where she had last seen Steve, Blair, and Sam. The highway. She never remembers anyone ever being this lethal. To kill in cold blood with no motives whatsoever. Yet, there he was chasing after her.

By the time Steve makes it over to Blair, she lays unconscious in a small pool of her own blood. Without her moving and twitching from the pain Steve can get a good look at the wound. It's all up and down her right side of her abdomen, glass shards from the windshield of the bus sticking out and protruding out from under her torn shirt. The shards are too deep for him to remove, some are so small he can't even imagine trying to pull them out with his fingers.

Instinctively, he pushes her back up against the side of a van, listening to her whine in protest and pain. He unbuckles the belt around her pants, making her groan in protest. "This isn't what it feels like, Norris," he hisses under his breath as he successfully maneuvers the belt off of her completely. He slides the red hoodie she still adorned from the mall and places it over her wound while securing it with the belt. She coughs a little as her eyes somewhat flutter open.

"Captain," she breathlessly breathes out, catching his attention. His brows raise with concern as he looks at his pale friend. What he had once recognized as a smartass, coy, cat-like agent was nothing more than a scared child afraid to die. Her deep chocolate eyes beg him to help her without actually saying it out loud. They had been on many missions before, she had been more faithful than any other agent or strike team member, she always followed his orders and most importantly she believed he could do it.

She reminded him a lot of Coulson. His lips press together firmly as he gazes into her eyes. "You stay right here, that's an order," he commands, placing his hand against her shoulders. "I will be _right_ back," Blair let's out a tired chuckle once again before leaning her head against the cool metal of the car she was pressed up against. "Yes, Cap,"

The Winter Soldier was slowly moving in on his next target. Natasha swivels her head to the side to see him sauntering over towards her direction as she darts back to the highway. Luckily there is no gunfire coming her way from the highway. Perhaps they were still busy fighting off Sam, he seemed to put up a good fight. "Move!" she yells at the civilians still fleeing from the gunfire. "Get out of the way! Clear the streets!" she beckons, waving her hands behind her as if to usher any innocent bystanders away from her.

There's a searing pain in her left shoulder, accompanied by a ringing pain in her ear. Immediately she hides behind a car, grasping at her shoulder. As she pulls her hand away there's the unmistakable smear of blood pooling up in her hand. She groans in pain and frustration. She couldn't believe that he actually shot her, she was sure enough to give him the runaround.

There was no sign of Steve, Blair, or Sam in sight. She feared she may be the last one left for a brief moment. She allows herself to slip out of the moment, slumping her back against the car as she pants from exhaustion. There's no sign of the assassin anywhere, yet she keeps her eyes shifting to each car, looking for any kind of sign. As she begins to let her guard down, The Winter Soldier surprises her by jumping up on the roof of the car right next to her, gun trained on her. She clamors backward, trying to get on her feet to run away but any attempt at it would be too late.

Luckily, as she struggles to stand up Steve comes from nowhere and tries to hit The Winter Soldier with his shield. Instead, the assassin, greets the shield with a firm punch with his mechanical arm, causing a ringing to alert everyone in the vicinity to stay away. Steve grits his teeth as he tries to push against him, but he loses control, sending him backward. The assassin begins shooting at him, just as he curls himself behind his shield. Steve breaks eye contact for a moment and connects them with Natasha, who appears to be injured as well but not dying like Blair.

"Find Blair! She's been hurt!" he orders Natasha, his voice getting drown out by the barrage of bullets. She nods her head once and begins to make her way up the street to find her fellow agent. As soon as the bullets let up, Steve flips over towards the closest car, seeking shelter from the next aim of bullets he has for him. He flips over the hood of the car and knocks the assault rifle from his hand, sending it flying to the ground. It's not his only weapon though, as Steve still has to shield himself from the handgun he pulls out.

Once again, Steve is able to knock it out of his hand, just as he tries to land a blow to the assassin's face, but it's easily blocked. Here he thought that The Winter Soldier only relied on guns, turns out he's just as good at hand to hand. Before he knows it, he's being forced to flip upside down to avoid a blow. He feels a tug at his shield and watches it come off as the assassin places it on his own arm. He glares at the man, he's the one who had put everyone's lives at risk and was currently causing Blair to die.

The Winter Soldier slings the shield back at Steve's head, where he narrowly misses it, watching it lodge itself into the backside of a van. His feet are already headed off towards The Winter Soldier, he doesn't have time to even think about going back and grabbing the shield. He avoids any swings and slashes the assassin tries to take with the small knife he cradled delicately in his hand. He's able to land a swift kick to his torso sending him flying back into a car, dropping his knife in the process.

All he feels is anger as he charges towards him, kicking him in the chest forcefully once again. He tries to get a good hook in but the assassin counters and tries to punch him as well, sending them both staggering as he tries to hit Steve over and over again while Steve dodges. Steve finally seizes the mechanical arm and flips him over onto his back. It's the wrong move.

He realizes this as the mechanical arm doesn't let go and instead latches onto his throat in an attempt to choke him. Without warning the assassin pulls him close only to throw him over the hood of a truck, sending him sprawled out on his back. His eyes open just in time to see his opponent on top of the hood of the car, fist balled up at his side.

Steve rolls over to his side to avoid a direct fatal blow to his head. The ground around the mechanical arms fist gives way, making a small hole in the ground. Steve swallows a hard lump in the back of his throat as he realizes that could've been him. He stands up to face his opponent once again only to be struck several times in the side, the last sending him pressed up against a van.

Steve regains hope in the fight as he realizes that this is the van with his shield stuck in it. He barely has time to bring his hand to his face as The Winter Soldier threatens to stab him once again with a knife. Instead, the knife punctures deep within the side of the van. The assassin glares at Steve as he places a hand up against his throat sliding him down the length of the van.

As they near the end, Steve turns and flips the assassin over on his back before flipping up and grabbing on to his shield and yanking it out of the van with force. He doesn't have time to delight that he has his shield back at The Winter Soldier attempts to slash at him several more times, his shield takes the brunt of the hits. Steve latches on to the mechanical arm and tries to break it with his shield but for some reason, the metal will not bend. His mind can't form a single coherent thought except for the word vibranium. The arm must be made from vibranium.

When that doesn't work, Steve grabs ahold of the assassin and flips him over his shoulder, sending him flying. His masks sputters across the ground, as Steve looks at it out of breath. He didn't know how much longer he could take of this.

As the assassin turns around, he can feel his heart falter for a moment as he takes in the features. The eyes, the mouth, the chin, the hair (even though it was the longest he had ever seen it). It was undeniably, without a doubt in his mind, Bucky Barnes.

His mouth is agape from the confusion as he narrows his eyes at his once long lost friend. It couldn't be him, he watched him fall, no one could be survived that fall. Yet, everything about him screams Bucky. It takes him a moment before he can even speak.

"Bucky?" he calls out, confused beyond belief. The assassin is confused as well, but his facial features won't let him express it.

"Who the hell is Bucky?" he replies, whipping a handgun out and training it on Steve.

Before he can even take the shot, Sam comes in, wings spread as he delivers a swift kick to the assassin. He comes skittering into a stop as he lands on the ground, glaring at Bucky who gives him a glare back as he stands up. Bucky looks around between him and Steve still confused about who these people are and why he can recognize who he's attacked. The man across the way, the girl he spared, the girl he shot. He had run into them all at some point in his life, yet he can't recall how and why.

Steve attempts to take a step forward but immediately steps back as a grenade explodes near his old friend, sending him flying. He peers over to the side to see Natasha with the grenade launcher that he had discarded. Blair was perched up beside her, clinging on to the red hoodie he had placed over her wound.

He's relieved to see them all, although they looked like hell, at least they were alive. Mostly. The sound of sirens flood the air, alerting them of incoming company. Blair sighs as she sits on the hood of a car. She wasn't able to put up a fight in this condition. Neither was Natasha with her shoulder.

All Steve can do is watch helplessly as a handful of black unmarked SUV's with sirens and lights on surround the group. Groups of armed agents step out of the vehicles, all weapons targeting the group of renegades. "Drop the shield, Cap!" a familiar voice calls out to him. He wants to roll his eyes as he sees the smug look on Rumlow's face demanding him to drop his weapon. Steve looks over to Blair and Natasha who have already surrendered, hands being cuffed. He reluctantly drops his shield.

Even though they had been caught, at least he could let them go without any trouble. Rumlow kicks the back of his knee in, forcing him on the ground with his hands in the air. He still couldn't get the image of Bucky's confused face out of his mind as he feels the barrel of a gun being directed at his head. He doesn't even since when Rumlow places the cuffs on his hands too tightly, nor does he care once the barrel is complete up against the back of his head.

All he could think about was Bucky and how the hell he ended up in the twenty-first century with him. The whir of a helicopter hovering nearby was enough to whip up some debris, dirt lines his face as his eyes stay trained on the ground. "Not here," he hears Rumlow command the person next to him. "Not here!" This time it's a little more firm, and he feels the barrel of the gun fall from his head.

Rumlow grips onto the back of his arm, forcing him to stand up. He follows his movements and stands up completely, following his footsteps towards a black unmarked can where two agents already sat perched within. "Get in, Cap," Rumlow instructs the worn down and tired Captain America as he places him in the back of the truck followed by Natasha and Blair, then finally Sam.

Rumlow takes a look at the crew that he had once worked for, scanning the wounds Natasha and Blair had received and the distraught look on his former leaders face. Rumlow smirks to himself as he grabs the black doors that would lock them into place. "You know, Cap," Rumlow calls out to Steve, drawing his tired eyes towards him. "If only your girlfriend would've cooperated like you,"

Steve's heart begins to race. Natasha throws him a worried look. He looked as if he was about to have a panic attack. Although, she was not his girlfriend Steve knew exactly who he was talking about. "Quinn," he breathes out just as the black doors start closing. Rage overflows within him now, he had stayed quiet long enough. He attempts to stand up to bolt towards the closing doors, glaring at a smirking Rumlow. "What did you do to her!"


	28. CHAPTER XXVIII

**CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT**

**( **HIJACKED **)**

**STEVE GNAWS AT his lower lip** like he had been doing for the past half hour as he sits a few inches away from Blair. He analyzes her wound, the blood has started seeping through the hoodie he had but against for pressure. Granted, she was also putting pressure on it by crouching over and placing the metal shackles against it, it still wasn't working. She was going to bleed out at any given minute. She had already lost so much blood when he found her.

He could guesstimate and say she's lost about a liter and a half, just by how pale she was and how loopy she was getting. Her words would slur together if she was forced to speak to the guards.

His mind ran a mile a minute. Between Natasha and Blair bleeding out in front of him, Quinn being in danger, and seeing Bucky for the first time in decades his mind was a little preoccupied to care whether or not he was going to die if he stepped out of this vehicle.

"What's eating you?" Sam questions him as if he was reading his mind. A small smirk plays at his lips. Steve guessed that he was under distress from everything he had learned, from what he had seen. He shrugs his shoulders as he peers around the caravan, not caring if anyone thought he was about to talk crazy. "That guy that we fought," he pauses, looking towards the ground as he tries to find the right words. "He was my best friend,"

Natasha is the first to give off a strange look between the group. She even scoffs at the idea of his best friend being an assassin. "Like from before the ice?" she tried to clarify, earning a small head nod from Steve. "It was him, I know it, I know what he looks like,"

The memories of Bucky plays within his mind. There was no doubt that was him. "He looked at me like he didn't even know me," he trails off. He begins shuffling his feet against the tread of the van as much as he can given the ankle shackles they've given them. "That doesn't make sense, it was seventy years ago," Sam chimes in.

All Steve can think about is watching his best friend fall from the train, how he mourned for him, truth be told he hadn't stopped mourning for him. He blames himself heavily for what's happened to him. "Zola," he breathes out grimly as flashes of the old Hydra Nazi base flood his mind.

"Bucky's whole unit was captured back in forty-three, they did experiments on him. Whatever he did helped him survive the fall," his jaw clenches as he thinks of Bucky reaching out to him, trying to latch on to his hand. If only he had been a few inches closer. "They must've found him and..." he trails off, thinking of the unimaginable things they could've done to him. He walked in on a horror scene when he saved him back in forty-three, whatever happened since could've been a million times worse. The mere thought of it makes his spine shiver.

Natasha notices how uneasy he is. It was normal for Steve to try to take the blame for everything, it's his biggest flaw. She rolls her eyes at the pity party he was throwing for himself. "None of that is your fault, Steve," she hisses out, woozily tilting her head back on the window. Steve avoids any eye contact from any of his friends, instead choosing to stare at the closest wall.

"Even when I had nothing, I had Bucky," he whispers out, earning an audible scoff from Natasha. Her head was starting to feel light, no doubt in her mind that's also how Blair felt. They hadn't treated their wounds to attempt to keep them alive which meant they were prepping them for death. Sam notices the distress coming from his right.

He carefully studies Natasha as she groans, sweating starting to bead from her forehead. A small drop of blood threatens to pool over a crease in her leather jacket. She hisses in pain, as the wound begins to pulsate with her body. Each pump of her heart sent more blood to the area. Sam couldn't even begin to think of what Blair's injury looked like, she was half slumped over the silver shackle that restrained them to their seats in the upright position but, it didn't take a rocket scientist to see that she was losing more blood by the second.

Sam looks towards the masked guards, swallowing any hesitation that he felt as he peered over at Blair. "We need to get a doctor in here," he speaks up, catching both of the guard's direct attention. "If we don't get pressure on any of their wounds they'll -" he gets cut off by the sound of electricity whirring as the guard closest to him pulls out a shock prod, threatening to use it on him. He immediately backs down from the challenge. He looks taken back, almost as if the guard had gotten him by surprise (which they had).

He licks his bottom lip with hesitation as he prepares for what his next plea would be. Instead of begging the guards, the guard with the shock prod turns in their comrade. Kicking and tasing the fellow guard unconscious.

Blair wakes up from her state of drowsiness, the commotion startling her awake. She almost had a heart attack from just the sight of what happened, yet she narrows her eyes at the guard who attacked, along with the rest of the group. The guard slowly pulls the helmet off their head, revealing a sweaty and frizzy-haired Maria Hill.

Blair leans back confused at the sight of Nick Fury's right-hand man. She pants as she places the helmet on the ground. "That thing was squeezing my brain," she pants out, looking around at the wide eyes expressions of the group. Figures, she wouldn't get a thank you for saving their lives. Technically they weren't saved yet. "Who's this guy?" she gestures over to Sam while looking at Steve, a slight smirk on her face as she tries to lighten the mood.

Instead of getting an answer she earns a giggle from Blair. It's a hysterical, woozy giggle like that of someone who had just taken a tablet of acid and was going on a nice trip. "I've been asking that this whole time," she manages to squeak out, forcing Steve to roll his eyes. "A friend," he quickly explains before somewhat moving forward in his seat. "Do you have any ideas on how to get out?"

Maria rolls her eyes as she pulls out a small device from her pocket. "Do I have any ideas to get you guys out? No. I've just been patiently waiting for the right time to knock out this guard and reveal my identity to you guys for dramatic effect," she states, sarcasm dripping heavily in her voice as she crosses over to Natasha and places gauze from her pocket on to her wound, applying pressure.

Individually, she breaks them free from their shackles, stopping at Blair to look at her wound. As she tends to Blair's injury the van comes to a complete stop. Maria casually drops the device on the ground, letting it hum against the cool metal until it basically hovers over it. It cuts out a small hole in the truck's floor, making leeway for them to escape. Steve helps Natasha down the hole, along with Sam. "Keep absolutely still," Maria hisses to them as she puts Blair down the hole, laying her flat against the pavement.

They lay beneath the truck for a couple of minutes, hoping no one would catch on to them and their escape plan. As the truck rumbles to life and moves forward, they're out in the open for a split moment before being engulfed in darkness under the rear truck, then witnessing the bright light of day once again. Steve can't believe it actually worked.

Maria groans as she sits up, stretching before helping Blair up. Steve offers Natasha a shoulder to lean on as they stand up in the middle of the street. They're open and unprotected if they end up in trouble once again. Steve didn't like it. He looks down at Natasha who was now starting to fade in and out of unconsciousness like Blair. "Is there a place -" Steve starts just as Maria interrupts him with a, "Follow me." Steve has no choice but to shrug his shoulders and follow the agent blindly, using what was left of his trust.

_**BOOK ONE: THE WINTER SOLDIER**_

**MARIA LEADS THEM quite a ways** away from S.H.I.E.L.D. or Washington DC for that matter. Steve can hardly tell if they're even in its city limits due to the vast green vegetation growing on the deep hills that seemed to encase them. Washington DC was big but it wasn't _that_ big. Surely he would've recognized this place by now or had seen any sign indicating they're not too far from the capital.

He's curious to find out where they are as Maria stops the van she had forced them to pile in. It seemed to relieve everyone. The back was dark and damp, it now reeked of the metallic scent of blood. Granted, Maria was able to place somewhat of a bandage over both Blair and Natasha's wounds it still wasn't enough to keep the blood from trickling out of their wounds. Blair still looked pale, yet she seemed in food spirits now that they were free of Hydra's attack. His eyes are blinded for a moment as Maria opens the sliding door to the back, ordering everyone to hop out.

Steve lends his shoulder for Natasha to lean on as her legs buckle from standing up. He peers down at her concerned. Had she lost more blood than Blair? Granted Blair's wound was larger and spread up and down her side, it wasn't nearly as deep at Natasha's. The bullet appears to have gone completely through. He follows Maria with Natasha clutching on to his frame for assistance, Sam and Blair following closely behind as they enter a long tunnel with a gated door. It eerily creaks open, the pungent smell of old sewage water fills his nostrils. It's unpleasant but at least they were in good hands.

His mind was elsewhere when he saw a figure running towards them in the tunnel, waving their hands towards the group. "GSW, she's lost about a pint," Maria informs the man running towards them. "Maybe two," Sam adds. Maria then directs her index finger back towards a limping Blair. She throws her a cautionary look before announcing to the man, "She's lost at least two. Several lacerations with foreign objects still intact in the wound,"

"Bring them to me," the man beckons, waving his arms towards them to help them out, his pace not faltering. Maria hesitates for a moment looking between Natasha and Blair. Natasha can somewhat hold her own along with Blair but she had been on the fence of passing out. It was a miracle she was even walking. "You can take Norris," she bargains, pushing Blair forward by the small of her back. Blair winces in the process of greeting the doctor, whose eyes shift towards Natasha and her wound.

"Romanoff will want to see him first," Maria states in a firm tone, one that everyone knew not to disobey. She wasn't as stiff as Fury but she still had a slight intimidating personality, especially when it came to her job. Natasha shares a confused look as they follow Maria, their minds filled with possibilities of what she had meant. Steve's automatically flew to Bucky. Although Bucky had tried to kill him earlier. He still can't shake what he had seen. Bucky was supposed to be dead. It wasn't possible for him to be alive.

Maria pulls back a plastic curtain which made a loud crackling sound, waking whoever was in the room. Steve's eyes widen with shock as he scans the hospital bed, with none other than Nick Fury laying in the middle of it, hooked up to several machines. His head whips up for a moment to scan the visitors and then he sighs and places his head back down on the pillow. "About damn time," he mumbles out.

Natasha let out an audible gasp as if someone had hit her right in the sternum and knocked the wind out of her. Steve clutches on to her tighter as her knees begin to buckle beneath her. The pure shock of Fury being alive was getting to her more than everyone else. She had known him longer. It was only fair for her reaction to be like this. Steve aids her as he pulls her towards a chair, placing her into it, he notices her eyes have never left Fury.

The doctor comes up from behind and places gauze on top of Natasha's wound. Steve questions where Blair is only to be informed a nurse is taking care of her in the next room over, Doctor Fine is the personal doctor of Fury and has to analyze and watch over him at all times due to how severe some of his injuries were. Steve continues to look at Fury in confusion as he tilts his bed upwards so he can have a better view of his guests. Even though he didn't want their company, he needed to see them. Every inch of Steve screamed for him to distrust Fury, especially after watching him flat line and gazing at his dead body on a table. The hell that he had put him through wasn't reprimandible.

His eyes lock with Fury's for a moment. Where Steve's eyes hold trauma from what he had been through today Fury's looks bored almost annoyed as if their presence here was more of a nuisance than anything or as if they had been tardy to some sort of scheduled meeting. "Explain," Steve spits out, his voice holding back a lot of annoyance and anger.

Fury can tell he's upset, yet he smirks just to spite him. "Lacerated spinal column, cracked sternum, shattered collarbone, perforated liver. One hell of a hit," Fury attempts to explain, trying to point at every location of which he had been assaulted, either from the car accident or Bucky's 'fatal' bullet. "Don't forget the collapsed lung," Doctor Fine adds in as he adds another stitch to Natasha's shoulder. She glares at Fury with hurt and confusion. "Let's not forget that, otherwise I'm good, I'm alive,"

"They cut you open, your heart stopped," Natasha says, her eyes still lingering with confusion.

"Tetrodotoxin B," Fury answers. "Slows the pulse to one beat. Banner developed it to use for stress. Didn't work for him, but we found use for it,"

The whole charade that Fury was putting on, about how he survived and everyone should've known better was getting on Steve's last nerve. Here they were trying to retaliate at S.H.I.E.L.D. and they needed help but Fury was already ten steps ahead of them. All of what they had been through was for nothing. "Why all the secrecy? Why not just tell us?" Steve was now starting to boil over with anger, letting it show through his closed fists that remained at his side.

"The attempt on the director's life had to look successful," Maria chimes in from behind them, causing Steve to direct his attention towards her as she saunters through the room towards Fury. The admiration she had for him made Steve feel almost sick. "Can't kill you if you're already dead. Besides, I didn't know who I could trust,"

This is a direct blow towards Natasha and Blair. He can see the hurt in Natasha's eyes as she careens her gaze towards the concrete floor. She wasn't as tough as she looked. Steve bites the inside of his cheek, trying his best to refrain from berating Fury, that was the last thing anyone needed to hear at the moment. He just nods his head and hums as he thinks of Fury's words. It was almost as if it was a slap in the face, the two people who trusted him the most were in danger from Hydra.

He runs his hand down his face trying to clear his thoughts from Bucky and Quinn and instead tried to focus on the task at hand. There were about to be millions of innocent people's lives at risk. His eyes turn up at the sudden movement from Fury's bed. He notices Fury having a tough time sitting up on his own in bed. It must've been a long time since he's been out of it. When his eyes connect with his, Fury shakes his head. "Let's have a chat,"

_**BOOK ONE: THE WINTER SOLDIER**_

**A PICTURE OF Alexander Pierce slides** across the small metal table that Fury had called them to, including Blair who was the only one sitting down with Fury. Steve refused to sit. If he sat he wouldn't want to get up, his nerves would stop him from whatever directive Fury would give him. He wasn't here to follow his directives, he was tired of taking them. "This man declined a Nobel Peace Prize," Fury looks as if he's biting out every word as if he couldn't believe Pierce was now the enemy, the head of Hydra. "Said peace wasn't an achievement, it was a responsibility. It's stuff like this that makes me have trust issues,"

Natasha lazily rolls her eyes at Fury before speaking up. "We have to stop the launch,"

"I don't think the council is accepting my calls anymore," Fury states as he leans up. He unlatches the black briefcase sitting on the table to reveal three muted blue SIM cards. Much larger than any SIM card anyone of this century would know but to Steve the objects still looked foreign, as if it was alien technology that Stark had been working on.

"What's that?" Sam questions in a monotone voice as he peers down into the briefcase. His expression wasn't exactly bored but more defensive and on-the-fence about everything he had been seeing or doing today. Steve was glad he was the one to speak up, and that he wasn't the only one wondering what the cards meant.

"Once the carriers reach three thousand feet," Maria interjects, displaying the laptops screen for each individual to gaze upon. "They'll triangulate with Insight's satellites becoming fully weaponized," she further explains.

"We need to breach and replace their targeting blades with our own," Fury takes over, holding up a SIM card for each of them to see.

"One or two won't cut it. We need to link all three carriers for this to work because if even one of those ships remains operational a whole lot of people are going to die," Maria finishes, gazing up at Steve with an almost mournful look. This was a serious matter and from what had happened she didn't know if he was in the right headspace to take on a mission as serious as this.

However, Fury insisted that he was the one to do this. She wouldn't go against his orders. Steve was now biting down on his thumb as if he was fighting back the urge to snap. Why would he want to do the dirty work for Fury after he had been tricked into thinking he was dead? Because of this, he was put through hell and he endangered someone he cared about. He glares over at Fury as he begins to speak up. "We have to assume everyone aboard those helicarriers is Hydra, we have to get past them, insert the server blades, and maybe just maybe we can salvage what's -"

This was enough to make him snap. "Salvage?" The word comes out almost like a growl from Steve as he speaks gaining everyone's attention. "We're not salvaging anything. We're taking down those carriers. We're taking down S.H.I.E.L.D."

"S.H.I.E.L.D. had nothing to do with this," Fury argues back, he wasn't used to having Rogers butting heads with him but lately it seemed like something they had been doing the most.

"You gave me this mission. This is how it ends," Steve informs him in an icy tone. "S.H.I.E.L.D.'s been compromised, you said that yourself. Hydra grew right under your nose and nobody noticed,"

"Why do you think we're hiding in this cave? I noticed," Fury challenges.

"How many paid the price before you did?" The words seemed to roll off his tongue like a burning fire. He was tired of putting S.H.I.E.L.D. before everything, especially with how it had been handled. Fury turns his head in the opposite direction from him. It felt like he had been slapped in the face. It was a low blow, something he hadn't received in a while.

"Look, I didn't know about Barnes," he says in a low tone, it almost sounded guilt-ridden. Even his name struck a chord in Steve's heart that made him feel an array of emotions - from sad because he didn't recognize him, too angry with Hydra for toying with him, too happy that he was alive at least for now.

"Even if you had would you have told me or would you have carpentalize that too?" His voice was threatening to crack in the process of speaking about Bucky. Fury's gaze still was filled with remorse as he looks up at Steve. "S.H.I.E.L.D. Hydra. It all goes,"

"He's right," Maria speaks up, catching Fury's gaze. He's astonished to see her agreeing with Steve instead of him. If anything she was his most trusted agent. His gaze falters over to Blair who just shrugs her shoulders. "Captain's orders," she says, voice cracking from exhaustion. She and Fury hadn't always seen eye to eye yet she still was one of the agents who he would trust the most along with Natasha, who slides down in her seat and ignores his gaze as he looks towards her to say something.

He finally looks up at Sam, who cracks a small smile. "Don't look at me. I do what he does but slower," he teases, crossing his arms across his chest. Fury looks around at the agents in the room. Not a single one of them had taken his side. He bites the inside of his cheek to try his best not to lash out in any way. Perhaps they were right. It was time to give S.H.I.E.L.D. up.

"Well," Fury addresses Steve, shaking his head in disappointment at his peers. "Looks like you're giving the orders now Captain," he sighs as he rubs his forehead with his thumb. He had lost his title at S.H.I.E.L.D. and had just lost everyone's approval in the secret base. He peers up at Steve one last time, he did feel guilty for not knowing about Bucky, however, he does have something that will help them.

"We have some Intel in S.H.I.E.L.D. at the moment, by we I mean Agent Hill," Fury informs, pointing towards Maria at the mention of her name. "Agent Thirteen has been able to give us information from the inside. Looks like your girl has been hijacked,"

Steve's brows furrow at the word 'hijacked'. Confusion riddles his face as he takes a step towards the table. "What do you mean? What have they done to her?" Steve questions, he's starting to feel light-headed at the thought of Quinn betraying them. Fury shrugs his shoulders. "She's been promoted to Pierce's personal bodyguard. It's thrown everyone through a loop at S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Thirteen suggests that they've gone in and messed with her mind in the same way they've been messing with Barnes',"

At the mention of Bucky and Quinn's names in the same sentence of being hijacked, Steve's knees begin to buckle. He quickly finds himself seated in a chair between Natasha and Blair. Two people he felt closest to were being used by Hydra. He immediately begins to blame himself for letting this happen. If he had been able to reach out for Bucky or been there for Quinn, Hyrda would have never gotten to them. He had made Quinn a promise that he would never put her in harm's way yet he unknowingly had. Hydra had been torturing her just for knowing him. "It's very possible that she may just be part of Hyrda -" Maria begins to explain only to have Blair cut her off.

"I think I would know if she was part of Hydra," she interrupts her voice rising at the sound of the accusation of her trainee being a Hydra mole. This catches Steve off guard as well and confuses him. How would she know? "Hydra would've put her through extensive training, and she would've known how to fight better than what I expected yet she hasn't exceeded my expectations - she's still learning -"

"She could be faking," Maria speaks up.

"I highly doubt she's a fraud," Blair scoffs. "Steve and I have spent the most time with her. If Hydra really wanted to kill any of us at any given time, why wouldn't she have killed us when we were alone with her?"

The room is silent for a moment while everyone takes in Blair's words. Steve's gaze finds its way to the ground as he thinks about Quinn once again. He thinks about how nervous she had been the last few times they've spoken to each other compared to their usual talks. Hydra must've gotten to her recently. "You should still take precautions if she really is Hydra," Fury states, bringing Steve out of his thoughts. "She's obviously been trained by you, Norris, so she is still lethal no matter how much you want to compare her to yourself. If she engages you and treats you as a target she's no different than any other Hydra personnel and should be shown no mercy as well any other Hydra agent,"

Steve abruptly stands up from his chair, tossing it behind him like it was nothing. His nerves were standing on edge at the thought of anyone hurting Quinn, he couldn't even think about doing something worse to her. Especially since this isn't her fault, it's his, he's the reason Hydra targeted her. If only he had stayed away and stopped pursuing the I.T. girl that people had gushed over. "Steve?" Blair's voice calls after him. He ignores it and continues to head out from the base. He needed to be alone before he went into battle.


	29. CHAPTER XXIX

**CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE**

**( **I CAN'T HURT YOU **)**

**THERE WAS A numbness to being** brainwashed. Quinn couldn't remember a single thing about herself. Nor did she even attempt to think about it. All she could think about was Alexander Pierce and the imminent dangers that always threatened him. She knew she worked at S.H.I.E.L.D., she never remembered all the dirty looks people would throw at her as she walked behind Pierce, a gun straddling her right hip just in case something happened. She knew that if it came down to it, she would take a bullet for Pierce. She just didn't know why.

Same as why she thought Captain America was an enemy to S.H.I.E.L.D. even though Pierce had explained that it was because he had killed Fury. She didn't question it, she couldn't question it. She followed closely behind Pierce as he waltzed out into the lobby of the Triskelion, humming _Hail to the __Chief_. Her head spun as she tried to think as to why she was following Pierce, she thought she heard something about meeting a council but her mind became fuzzy after a while.

To think of anything that happened within the last five minutes made her mind sear with pain. Her teeth sank into the side of her cheek as she tried to refrain from showing any pain, for some reason her mind associated any time that she displayed any basic human emotion she was going to be disciplined. Usually, disciplined meant someone doing bodily harm to her. Although she has no recollection of anyone hurting her she didn't want to take any chances.

She absentmindedly smiles as she sees a figure with a blonde bob haircut exit a car from the outside and starts to make her way from the inside. Her hands intertwine together in front, being careful not to wrinkle the beige pantsuit that she was instructed to wear. _Was she instructed to wear this or was this something she wore all the time?_

Her eye twitches at her internal conflict, as she fidgets under the pressure of meeting the woman crossing towards them along with three other men. She knew these people. She knew their names. Yet she couldn't even remember hers completely. All she knew was her last name since that's what everyone had been calling her by. Or maybe it was her first name? Cruise sounded like a strange first name.

"Don't speak," Pierce hisses under his breath in her direction. She obediently nods her head once as she stops behind him, waiting for the council. He places a fraud smile upon his face as he greets the council, an outstretched hand encases the woman's hand. "And how was your flight?" he questions the woman, Councilwoman Hawley. She huffs out a sigh of frustration as she gazes into his eyes with a bored expression. "Lovely," she begins, bringing yet another smile to Pierce's face. "The ride from the airport less so,"

Pierce lets out a wry laugh, "Sadly, S.H.I.E.L.D. can't control _everything_,"

"Including Captain America, apparently," Councilman Rockwell states.

It was like a jab to Pierce's pride. Quinn could easily tell that the comment made him on edge, and antsy. His brow furrowed as he turned, ignoring the comment and Quinn's wandering eye. He saunters over to another guard, holding a briefcase that opens as soon as they arrive. Quinn chooses to stand next to the guard, trying her best to look as menacing as possible next to him, however, that seemed impossible.

While he was muscular, tall, and clad in a black tactical uniform, Quinn was just in her tan pantsuit and white heels to match. A handgun rests against the side of her chest inside of the blazer, she felt uncomfortable wearing it but was instructed to do so. She didn't know why she agreed to it. She was the equivalent of the secret service to the president only she worked to protect Alexander Pierce.

Each council member takes a pin from within the briefcase attaching it to their blouses. "This facility is biometrically controlled, and these will give you unrestricted access," Pierce informs each council member, a smile perching itself on his lips as he watched them pin it on. The council has no idea what the pins can do, but he knew and he would love to see what damage they can cause.

Quinn's lips still hold their pressed lipped frown as each pin is taken. She wasn't exactly told what these pins were supposed to do but she did know that they were harmful. She couldn't shake the feeling that she should tell these people that but something stopped her. It was like a searing sensation had hit her in the back of the head as she tries to find the urge to tell the council what's going to happen to them if they don't obey. Pierce notices her nervous antics, his lips pull into a slight frown.

"Agent Cruise," Pierce whispers under his breath, catching her attention. "Why don't you do a sweep and then meet me in my office," he suggests, an icy tone hints in voice. Her mouth opens for a moment as if she wanted to protest but then she firmly closes it with a curt nod, her eyes never leaving Pierce's.

A part of her wanted to protest, she wanted to stay, she also wanted to warn the council of their badges but something forced her to stop. It was something she couldn't control no matter how much she wanted to. As she turns to leave her eyes connect with Councilwoman Hawley, her gaze upon first glance was icy they held an uncertainty as she continued to look at her. It was as if the councilwoman was studying her.

Quinn quickly brushes off the small interaction as she strides forward, facing the opposite way of the council and Pierce. A light sigh escapes her lips as a stinging sensation flows through her veins. The woman's eyes seemed so familiar yet she didn't recall ever meeting Councilwoman Hawley. She can't recall meeting anyone in the building, even the people who shot her glares as she passed by. Especially an Agent Thirteen, she was the one who gave her the fiercest glare. She forces herself to suppress the urge to question why she shared hateful glances yet her mouth stays shut. It was against her directive to speak to anyone in S.H.I.E.L.D.

She was only given the order to protect Pierce and when she wasn't protecting him she was protecting project Insight. From what she understood, Insight would help eradicate any terrorist organizations as they became a threat to national security.

It irked her and had her questioning why Captain America wanted to destroy the program, while she was willing to put her life on the line to protect Insight. She thought he was all for freedom and peace, she had been told that that's what Insight was going to bring, perhaps Captain America was worried that he was going to become irrelevant without the threat of war.

Quinn nods her head at a couple of agents who pass by her as she swipes her card against a key fob, allowing her access to the helicarrier launchpad. The sleek helicarriers were teeming with agents beginning to board, ready for take-off as soon as Pierce gave them the go-ahead. That was part of the plan. Have Pierce woo the security council, release Insight, and then go down in history. Hopefully, she could stop working after today.

Although she can't remember much of this place her gut drops to the floor with every step she takes on the hangar. Something about it seemed so familiar to her, yet the memory was convoluted and a hazy mess. Another shock runs through her body, causing her to physically jump midstride. Her hand instinctively lands on the back of her neck where the shooting pain came from, gasping at the sudden electricity.

Once the pain dissipates, she swivels her head from side to side to see a few agents giving her questioning looks as they continue to load up the helicarriers. A sheepish smile threatens to make an appearance on her lips, but she quickly finds the nearest exit and pushes her way through it. Her head is pounding, as her ragged breaths fill the empty echoing stairwell. This was something she's never experienced before, was it a panic attack? Something wasn't sitting right with her.

She knew she had memories of this place, why couldn't she remember? She takes a moment to somewhat compose herself if Pierce or any STRIKE agent found her like this she knew there'd be a punishment. She forces herself to climb up the stairwell, away from any place she knew would be littered with agents, yet close enough to a door where she could easily exit if Pierce needed her.

Once she feels she's climbed high enough to get away from everyone and everything she places her cheek against the cool cement wall of the stairwell. Compared to the rock her cheek feels as if it was on fire, almost as if she had a fever of some sort. It killed her to not know who she was or what she was doing here. She wanted to know how she came to be Pierce's most trusted guard desperately. She wanted to know the training she went through to have a connection with some of the agents. Most of them treated her like a genuine outcast.

Although this hurt her and rocked her to her core she was instructed to show no emotion towards anyone or anything, so whenever she heard the whispers of how out of place she looked being next to Pierce or asking why out of everyone she was working in the higher-ranked agents she had to hold a blank slate. Which most of the time she could do, sometimes her mind would just zone out and she wouldn't even remember getting to the point she was at when she came to.

The sweat on her palms become more apparent with each moment she spent in the stairwell, sinking to the floor as she tried to collect herself. Whoever she was she knew deep down she was way in over her head.

The door to the stairwell above her slams open with a metallic thump, a blast of cool air running through the dank area. She rises to her feet, alarmed at the voices that seemed to be bickering between each other about a plan. She narrowed her eyes at the figure who starts making their way down the stairs, only to stop in their tracks once they make eye contact with her.

Her mind flares with an aching pain as she recognizes the man to be Captain America. This is the man that Pierce instructed her to keep away, he was a fugitive on the run and hoping to destroy Insight. Yet his eyes held an emotion that she had never seen before. It almost was like they flashed between relief and regret as he continued to gaze at her.

She winces at the ringing sound that came to her ears as she tried to recognize who he actually was to her. She knew that they had met, his features let her know that they have. Despite wishing to know who he was to her, she knew what he was doing here. "Steve," Sam warns as he watches Steve lower his defenses. All he gets in return was a mild glare from the Avenger before his attention is back on Quinn. He could handle Quinn alone, besides he didn't want Sam or Maria hurting her. He was going to try his best not to.

He raises his hands at his sides as he slowly descends the steps, closing the space between them. "I don't want to fight you," he calmly states. She scoffs at this remark, shrugging her shoulders. "I have no choice," she replies in a low tone, before launching herself at him. Steve narrowly dodges it, remembering that she's novice in any hand to hand combat. He can tell she's changed a little in her training but she's still no match for him.

"I don't want to hurt you," he reiterates, as she attempts to kick him. He easily blocks her, with his shield causing her to call out in pain. His eyes shoot up to look at her as she grabs on to her ankle, wincing. "Quinn," he mumbles out under his breath, his tone sounding concerned. Too concerned to even notice that her frustration was shooting through the roof, and to slow to react to the foot that connects to the bottom of his jaw, causing his lip to bleed.

As he tries to make sense of what just happened Quinn sucker punches him in the gut, knocking the air out of his lungs. As her fist retracts to punch him while he's down he holds up his hands in defeat, before kneeling down before her. This notion confuses her. "I'm not going to fight you," he simply states, his breathing a little ragged from the leftover sucker punch that was sure to be a bruise on his gut.

There's a hint of question in her glare as she looks down at him, still poised like a coil ready to snap at any moment. "Your name is Quinn," he begins, earning a widened look from her. The name did sound familiar. Her mind starts to ache as she tries to search for anything related to her with the name Quinn. Her eyes stay locked on Captain America's as he continues, "You went to college for law enforcement. You never pursued it because you made a promise to yourself that you'd be there for your mom. You made a promise to me that you wouldn't get hurt,"

"And just like you, I made a promise to myself that no one would hurt you, and I let you down," his voice is starting to falter at the mention of her well-being. This makes her even more confused. Why would someone she's trying to kill care for her? Why would she be associated with someone who is trying to stop S.H.I.E.L.D. from doing the greater good?

"You have to see what they've done to you," Steve continues, drawing her attention back to him. "They've changed you, Quinn. You were never an agent. You were in I.T. You were my friend," This makes her mind ache even more. She can see flashes of their time spent together but all of it seems vague and distant almost like a dream.

"You mean more to me than just a friend. I'm not going to hurt you, I don't think I could,"

Her brows furrow in confusion at the confession. She had previously had feelings for Captain America? The butterflies in her stomach were undeniable. She shakes her head from side to side to clear her mind. Confessing feelings wasn't going to keep her from her orders. In a notion that comes as second nature to her, she grips the handgun from inside the blazer and points it at him. Steve flinches for a moment, placing his shield up to protect his head from the blast.

The shot never came.

His eyes peer over the edge of his shield curiously, watching Quinn as her hand trembled along with the gun. She strained, letting out a small gasp as if she was choking as she points the gun at him once again. Something stops her each time her finger is on the trigger. She didn't know if it was the look of fear in his eyes or if it was because she knew this was wrong.

Within a moment's notice, her hand releases the gun, letting it sputters down the flight of steps. Tears begin to run down her face, leaving long trails of warmth down her cheeks. She grabs her head within her hands, her body trembles as she fights the urge to hurt Captain America. A part of her wanted to believe him, that they once had a life where they were friends, where they were _more_ than friends.

Her mind catches moments of their time spent together, making her senses crash every time she saw them together. A small part resented him for bringing this to light. Killing him was her directive. She couldn't go against orders. Her knees buckle beneath her as she gives way to a heart-wrenching sob that rips through her chest. She feels as if she was on fire. The pain was immeasurable.

Her eyes flutter open to see Captain America crouching down in front of her, worry stretching across his face as he scanned her features. "I can't," she sobs out to him. "I can't let you in. I have directives,"

In a moment's notice, her feet swipe underneath his knocking him flat on his back. It takes him a moment to realize what had happened. By the time he comes to realization, Quinn is lunging towards him. In a swift motion, Steve kicks his feet up from under him and plants them directly into Quinn's stomach. He pushes back, sending Quinn flying into the wall, knocking her head back with a solid thump.

As soon as her head hits the wall her vision goes dark, her shoulders begin to slump as exhaustion takes over. "Quinn!" She can hear Captain America shout. For some reason, this all seems familiar to her. Feeling him comfort her as she shuts her eyes to go to sleep as her head throbs in pain. They've done this before. Before she drifts off she can barely make out the muffled words of her attacker. "I'm sorry,"

Steve watches as her eyes glue shut, her body becoming weak and lifeless. Panic soars over him as he calls out her name with no response. He places two fingers at her neck to feel the faint beating of a pulse coursing through her. Relief washes over his nerves, he had merely knocked her out. It's not what he had intended on doing but if Maria or Sam were to face off against her, things could've gone worse. They wouldn't have any feelings towards injuring her or possibly killing her.

All he felt was the extreme guilt of letting this happen to her. Yet, even though she was brainwashed like Bucky she still looked peaceful as she slept. It was like looking at the Quinn he knew. How peaceful and gentle she looked while sleeping as if she didn't have a care in the world while she slept.

A hand places itself on Steve's shoulder, reminding him that he still had a mission to do. He looks up to see Sam giving him a reassuring look before holding a hand for him to take. Steve helps himself up, not uttering a single word as the three continued to descend amongst the stairwell towards the communication hub. They knew their mission. He had to complete it, no matter the cost.

"You're sure that whatever you're doing will jam the system?" Sam calls over his shoulder to Maria who is fiddling with a USB in her hand. She raises her brows at the slight doubt that Sam held towards her. "I'm jamming the frequency, not the system," she corrects him, holding a discouraging glare towards Steve's new friend. "Besides, this is what we use on the field all the time. Hasn't flunked out since the system update,"

Steve stops at the door of the communication hub, making sure to stand back a few feet just in case someone came too close to the door to hear them. Maria and Sam follow behind, quickly tensing up just in case a fight breaks out. Steve throws a playful smirk towards Maria. "Then let's see if it works," he challenges, earning an eye roll from the agent.

She doesn't break the smug eye contact with Steve as she presses the button on the device, a sea of groans erupting from the communication room. The device must've worked. Steve merely nods his head as he turns to face the door. A job well done. Maria stands by his side, gun out, ready to blow anyone back who threatened them.

The door in front of them swings open to reveal a scrawny tech, his headset places upon his shoulders, a surprised look appearing on his face as he takes in their presence. Maria trains her gun on the tech's head, making him whimper with fear. _Treat everyone as if they were Hydra._ Fury's words sink into his mind as he continues to stare at the tech.

"Excuse us," he says in a low, authoritative tone. The tech holds his hands up and steps aside to let them enter. Steve crosses the room filled with tech's each of their hands raised in the air as Maria points a gun at each of them, while Sam also follows closely behind. Unsure of who is Hydra and who is loyal to S.H.I.E.L.D.

Steve shoots a glare at every tech in the room as he approaches the P.A. system. They were the cause of his friends suffering, they were going to be behind Insight's massacre. No doubt he was on the list of people to kill along with the other Avengers. He clears his throat before placing his thumb on the switch of the P.A. system. It hisses with static before becoming silent. "Attention, all S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. This is Steve Rogers," he addresses, causing most people in the building to perk up at the sound of his voice.

"You've heard a lot about me over the last few days, some of you were even ordered to hunt me down. But I think it's time you know the truth. S.H.I.E.L.D. is not what we thought it was, it's been taken over by Hydra. Alexander Pierce is their leader. The STRIKE and Insight crew are Hydra as well. I don't know how many more, but I know they're in the building. They could be standing right next to you. They almost have what they want: absolute control,"

"They shot Nick Fury and it won't end there. If you launch those helicarriers today, Hydra will be able to kill anyone that stands in their way, unless we stop them. I know I'm asking a lot, but the price of freedom is high, it always has been, and it's a price I'm willing to pay. And if I'm the only one, then so be it. But I'm willing to bet I'm not,"

The intercom switches, leaving the whole building in a state of shock and awe. Mostly betrayal. The same of which Steve was feeling all at the moment. He peered over towards Maria and Sam, who held a slight smirk on his face. "Did you write that down first, or was it off the top of your head?"

**_~BOOK ONE: THE WINTER SOLDIER~_**

**QUINN'S HEAD WAS fuzzy as she** felt herself coughing from the burning sensation coming from her eyes and nose. Her hands claw at her face to find a wet substance sprayed across her face. As she opens her eyes she blinded by the light from the stairwell.

A figure crouches in front of her, a can of Narcan in the palm of his hand. Her mind was still swaying as she looks over at the man clad in his STRIKE uniform, the badge on his chest reads "Rumlow". He pats her shoulder in a reassuring manner as he leans into his mic. "I got her, bringing her up," his voice is muffled. There's an aching in her neck and a throbbing pain coming from the back of her head. It completely confines her motor skills as she groans in pain and leans back down.

"Come on kid," Rumlow addresses her, standing up at his full height. She has to squint against the light to see his facial features. He holds his hand out for her to take. "We got a code red. Pierce needs protection,"

Her eyes widen at the mention of the code red. She hastily clamors to her feet and begins climbing the stairs with Rumlow to the closest elevator. Pierce was in trouble.


	30. CHAPTER XXX

**CHAPTER THIRTY**

**( **DOWNFALL **)**

**"YOU SMUG SON of a bitch!"** Councilman Rockwell's voice radiates with anger, the loudness of the outrages can be heard from outside the doors that Quinn steps into. Everyone in the room looks towards her as she enters, gun in hand, ready to kill on order. The councilman gives a smug laugh as he looks towards her, thankful the agents have finally shown up to their aide.

"Arrest him," Councilman Singh demands her, pointing towards Pierce. Her expression is blank as she appears beside Pierce, her eyes trained on the man who ordered her around. She points her gun at the councilman, causing him to look towards her in shock. The other agents in the room follow her lead silently. Pierce chuckles lowly beside Quinn as a tacky grin appears on his face.

"I guess I've got the floor," he hums out. Quinn remains silent next to him, her gun still trained on the man even though she can feel the glare Councilwoman Hawley was throwing her. Pierce leaves her side to look out the window. The helicarriers have started to raise up out of the depths of their hangars. The size of them alone was enough to make anyone gasp. A few straggling loyal S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are on the ground near the helicarrier fleet, fighting off anyone who tried to come close to the helicarriers. Including Steve Rogers who's figure is the most distinguishing of all the agents.

"Let me ask you a question," Pierce states, turning on his heel. His finger lace around a glass fluke of champagne a Hydra loyalist had brought in. His eyes scan Councilman Singh's figure as if he's analyzing him before taking a sip of his champagne. He takes a fluke of champagne off the tray the Hydra loyalist is holding and begins sauntering over to the Councilman.

"What if Pakistan marched into Mumbai tomorrow, and you knew that they were gonna drag your daughters into a soccer stadium for execution?" He hypothetically questions, offering the glass of champagne to the Councilman which he takes. "And you could just stop it with a flick of the switch. Wouldn't you?" He turns to look at the rest of the council with his fraud smile. "Wouldn't you all?"

"Not if it was your switch," Councilman Singh replies with disgust, tossing his glass aside which instantly shatters on impact. Pierce huffs out an exhausted sigh before scratching his brow in frustration. "I wish you hadn't done that," he mutters under his breath as he paces towards Quinn. He places his hand out towards her as if he was demanding something. He was.

Although, she's reluctant she hands her gun over to him. Pierce turns on his heel again and points it at Singh. Quinn does nothing as she watches the councilman's eyes widen with fear. Her gut wanted to stop Pierce, she wanted to kick the gun out of his hand and be done with this, yet her body resists her urges.

Suddenly, in a swift motion, Councilwoman Hawley nimbly kicks Singh away, then takes down the other Hydra agents in the room, making sure to leave Quinn alone - as she had promised, before taking the gun in Pierce's hand and a knocked out agents and pointing them at Pierce and Quinn.

Pierce holds up his hands in defeat as he stares at the barrel of the gun, amazed at how fast and flexible the Councilwoman was. Councilwoman Hawley draws her gun away from Quinn for a moment to rip at the seam of her face. Quinn watches terrified for a moment until she realizes it's a disguise. The gun is pointed back towards her as she raises her brows and places her hands at her sides in defeat as well. She was looking face to face with Natasha Romanoff. The agent smirks at Pierce. "I'm sorry. Did I step on your moment?"

Within a moment Quinn kicks one of the guns out of Natasha's hands, easily grabbing it midair and pointing it right back at her. Natasha's face scrunches as if she had just been insulted by Quinn's move. Blair had taught her too well. Too well to the point that Natasha thought if she were to move first she'd be fighting Blair.

If only she were here and not back at the secret base recovering from her wounds. It would've been different if she was here, she'd be able to take Quinn out easily since she taught her all her moves. Even though Natasha was more well known and more versatile in other areas of fighting techniques she'd be pretty matched up to Blair. "Put the gun down, Quinn," Natasha warns, watching confusion hit Quinn's eyes.

It's the second time that someone has mentioned her by that name. Was her name really Quinn? Was she really an agent or was she just brainwashed by Pierce? She refuses, still pointing her gun at Natasha, brows furrowed with determination. She may not have been able to shoot Captain America but she has no problem with shooting Black Widow. There was hardly keeping anything back for her, unlike her encounter with the first Avenger. Her finger easily slides towards the trigger, ready to fire if Black Widow made any movements to counter her.

"Sorry Rogers, I'm going to have to break our agreement," Natasha smirks as she clicks the commlink on. Quinn furrows her brows in question at Natasha's comment. What agreement? She wishes she could speak up for herself but knowing that Pierce was beside her she knew she'd be disciplined.

She's too caught up in her thoughts to even register that Natasha is calculating her attack. She juts a foot out, stomping on Quinn's knee causing her to cry out in pain before elbowing her hard enough in the back of the head to knock her to the ground, groaning in pain. It was a swift and easy defeat for Natasha. A dirty play on the soft and tender spot on the back of her head where she had hit it against a wall earlier.

Quinn swipes at Natasha's feet, knocking her on her back beside her. All the air in Natasha's lungs escaping. Quinn throws a blow towards Natasha's body, only for it to be blocked. Natasha does the same; they create an odd dance of blows and blocks while laying flat on their backs. Quinn finally lands a blow to Natasha's shoulder, sending her sprawling backward. It buys her enough time to stand on her feet, she quickly scans the room for her gun or any gun for that matter.

Her eyes finally lock on to one that an agent had been holding on to when Natasha took him down. As she takes a step towards his unconscious body to steal his weapon, Natasha flings herself into the air, straddling herself on Quinn's back and putting her arm around her neck in a choke-hold. Quinn fights back by flipping her off her back only to watch her quickly recover from the blow. Natasha smirks as she stands poised like a cat. "Let me tell you, the fact that you're doing this in heels is amazing,"

Quinn remains silent, her lips pursed as she continues to glare at the Avenger, waiting for her to pounce. Natasha returned the glare with a light-hearted smirk once again, before flipping over to an unconscious agent. Quinn's mind ran with panic as she attempted to sprint over to Natasha to stop her from getting a weapon. It was too late.

As she approaches the Avenger, she's met with the barrel of a gun pointed directly at her nose - at the other end an angry Black Widow. "Hands where I can see them," she demands in a threatening voice. Too close to even try to knock the gun out of her hand Quinn raises her arms to the side in defeat. The feeling of failure runs cold through her veins as she steps back to avoid Natasha's aim.

Natasha scans her appearance once more before hitting her in the side of the head with the butt of the gun, knocking her down for the count. Quinn's vision is blurry as her body slumps to the floor. Her body refuses to get up even though her mind is screaming for her to.

An applause erupts from the council members as she watches Natasha saunter over to the computer in the room, gun aimed at Pierce. "She may work on Rogers, but she's not my weakness," Natasha comments, earning a scoff from Pierce. Natasha glances over to a halfway conscious Quinn, her lids were drooping, her breathing was ragged from the encounter she had just faced.

She had to hand it to Blair, her training with Quinn was working, she could hold her own she just needed more discipline. Maybe if she knew that Natasha made an agreement with Steve not to hurt her, maybe if she could've convinced her that she was actually fighting for her life, she would've succeeded.

The keys on the keyboard click beneath her fingers as she shakes the thought of Quinn making a lethal agent if S.H.I.E.L.D. hadn't been compromised. Her job was easy compared to Steve and Sam's. She just had to ignore the sounds of guns firing in the distance and focus on the task at hand even though she wanted to desperately ask her teammates if they were okay.

Councilman Rockwell cocks his head to the side while watching her. She tries her best to ignore the motion and continue working. "What are you doing?" he questions, his eye squinting as he peered over at the agent. Pierce lets out a frustrated sigh, earning the council's attention. "She's disabling security protocols and dumping all the secrets onto the internet,"

"Including Hydra's," Natasha adds in a cool tone, not taking her eyes off of the screen.

"And S.H.I.E.L.D.'s," he replies, his gaze narrowing at the Avenger. "If you do this, none of your past is gonna remain hidden," Natasha stops typing for a mere second, taking in Pierce's words. He couldn't get to her, she wouldn't let him. Her fingers go back to typing in the encrypted codes that Fury had given to her.

"Are you sure you're ready for the world to see you as you really are?" Pierce eggs on, causing Natasha to glare at him.

"Are _you?_"

Natasha is starting to become agitated at Pierce's presence. If she didn't need him to help them disable Insight she would've shot him long ago. Her typing becomes more pronounced as she finishes the last of her encryption, pressing enter and looking up at Pierce with a shit-eating grin when she's done. "I'm in," she whispers sweetly over her commlink. Pierce rolls his eyes as he looks at her. "Disabling the encryption is an executive order, it takes two Alpha Level members,"

"Don't worry," she coyly responds. "Company's coming,"

The propellers of a helicopter whir over top of the building, shaking the entire office from inside. Everyone glances at one another uneasily, except for Natasha who looks out with a smirk at the black chopper as it lands. Quinn's eyes widen with shock as she watches the figure step out of the helicopter.

She recognizes him but doesn't know him, unlike Natasha and Steve. She was not informed of this individual yet she was hyper-aware of how lethal and terrifying he is if someone were to cross him. She peers up to Pierce who has a smug grin on his face as the man enters through the glass door of the office. A permanent scowl on his face. "Did you get my flowers?" he questions the man, making him glare coldly at the secretary. "I'm glad you're here, Nick," Pierce says with a false sense of warmth in his voice.

"Really?" Fury's voice is filled with sarcastic surprise, his face still in a taught scowl. "Because I thought you had me killed,"

Pierce lets out a wry chuckle. "You know how the game works,"

"So why make me the head of S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Fury questions.

"Because you were the best and the most ruthless person I ever met," Pierce answers as if it was obvious.

"I did what I did to protect people," Fury gruffly states.

"Our enemies are your enemies, Nick," Pierce tries to sympathize. "Disorder, war. It's just a matter of time before a dirty bomb goes off in Moscow, or an EMP fries Chicago," he hisses as if he's taken a blow. "Diplomacy? Holding action, a band-aid. And you know where I learned that; Bogota. You didn't ask, you just did what had to be done. I can bring order to the lives of seven billion people by sacrificing twenty million. It's the next step, Nick, if you have the courage to take it,"

Pierce's tangent sounds more and more like a mad scientist, even to Quinn. Her brows knit together as a searing pain of lost memories rush forward causing her to hiss in pain. Fury and Pierce ignore her presence as they continue to glare at each other. Natasha grows sick of the secretary and points her gun at his head, knowing Quinn couldn't react from the (hopeful) concussion she gave her.

"No, I have the courage not to," Fury retorts. Natasha motions to Pierce to move towards the screen where Fury was headed with her gun. There was to be no funny business.

Pierce grins like a maniac while letting out another wry chuckle. "You don't you think we wiped your clearance from the system?" Pierce almost sounds offended that Fury thinks he'd be so careless. However, Fury cuts him off.

"I know you erased my password, probably deleted my retinal scan, but if you want to stay ahead of me, Mr. Secretary..." Fury flips his eyepatch open to reveal a scarred eye, the glaze over it suggests that it's dead. The very look of it makes Quinn want to gag. "You need to keep both eyes open," Fury finishes. Natasha presses her gun closer to Pierce's head, forcing him to look into the retinal scanner. He rolls his eyes before staring at the computer screen, letting it scan over his eye. This was a minor setback in his plans. _"Alpha Level confirmed. Encryption code accepted. Safeguards removed," _the computer hums out.

Fury gives Pierce a smug smirk as Pierce returns it with a scowl. They had just released everything about S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra online. Of course, people knew about S.H.I.E.L.D. but no one knew of Hydra except that it was a dead Nazi organization - that has now come to the present. He was going to be the most hated man in the world. "You know what to do," Fury states in a positive tone towards Natasha, who's eyes become glued to her phone as soon as Fury gives her the okay. Pierce sighs in frustration. "I thought you were like me," he growls towards Fury under his breath.

Fury turns on his heel to glare at the undersecretary. "What part of 'you-almost-had-me-killed' don't you understand?"

Before Pierce can even conjure up a reply Natasha hums out, "Done," drawing everyone's attention towards her. Her eyes still glued to her phone. "And it's trending,"

Natasha's eyes dart to Quinn's figure as she begins to hoist herself up. The blow didn't impact her too much. Whether that was a good or a bad thing was to be determined. Natasha's instincts make her brace herself for something horrible to happen. Quinn's eyes are more glazed over by the brainwashing than before. It was like she was just an emotionless husk.

It was strange to see her of all people be devoid of anything that humanized her, the only thing that was imminent was the defensive aggression she held towards Natasha. However, she didn't act on it just yet. Pierce lets out another wry sigh as he takes a device out from his pocket pushing the button down. The pain-filled cries from Councilman Rockwell and Singh fill the room, as Natasha and Fury watch helplessly as the pins that were attached to their chest sink into their skin. The smell of burning flesh makes Natasha want to gag, yet she holds her cool.

The adrenaline in her blood points the gun at Pierce, Fury follows. Pierce tsks the two agents, the device still in his hand. Quinn naturally comes by his side, picking up a discarded gun in the process. "Unless you want a two-inch hole in your sternum, I'd put that gun down," Pierce threatens. Natasha's glare doesn't back down, instead her finger grips around the trigger tighter, waiting for the right moment.

"That was armed the moment you pinned it on," Pierce clarifies, pointing towards the pin on her chest. She holds her glare for a few seconds longer before reluctantly putting the gun by her side. Fury follows her moves. "No funny business," Pierce threatens the two once again before turning towards Quinn. "Keep an eye on the Cruise," he commands as he steps away. "I've got some weapons to launch,"

Fury peers from Natasha to Quinn, who has a gun aimed between the two of them, ready to fire as soon as one steps out of line. He lets out a huff of frustration before turning towards Natasha. "She really doesn't know anything?" Natasha shrugs her shoulders at the question. "I haven't really tried to jog her memory, but she looks more brainwashed than she did earlier. Maybe I hit her too hard," Natasha muses in a bored tone, scanning Quinn's glazed eyes for any kind of resemblance.

Fury grunts in response then focuses back on the blonde-haired girl in front of them. She was someone who he least expected to be a part of Hydra, he gave her the option to teach Steve if they were subtle about it, he even had her trained if they weren't going to be subtle. Just like S.H.I.E.L.D., it backfired on him. Yet, Natasha was right. She didn't hold the same resemblance to the trusting, open-hearted person he last communicated with. Everything about her screamed that she was out of place and beyond her depth.

"Quinn, do you know who you are?" Fury questions, only earning silence from the girl. That only proved his theory further. The girl he once knew and watched with Rogers was no longer in control, instead, this was just a Hydra sleeper agent. His lips purse to the side as he scans her emotionless features.

"Lieutenant, how much longer?" Pierce's voice carries throughout the room despite being all the way across the room.

"Sixty-five seconds to satellite link. Targeting grid engaged. Lowering weapons array now," the radio chatters back, making a grin spread across his face. "Looks like Rogers isn't going to make it," he sings out, almost dancing his way back towards the former S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. No matter how much they wanted to, they restrained and eye roll. "Would you like to watch? You've got a front-row view?" Pierce offers, gesturing to watch the helicarriers out the window as they begin to initiate. For the first time, Natasha's stomach drops. Was Steve not going to make it? Where was Sam in all of this? No one had communicated via comm in a while. Were they dead already?

"Algorithm deployed," a voice crackles over the radio held by Pierce, it was conveniently loud enough for the two agents to hear. The news makes him smirk. "We are go-to targets," Pierce affirms. Natasha's eyes widen as she continues to look out of the window. She was all for last moment miracles but had long since abandoned the idea of Insight being taken down in time. The muscles in her calves tightened as she mentally prepared to step in and take Pierce out. The only problem was the pin on her chest. She needed to deflect it somehow. Her eyes flickered over towards Quinn who still held her at gunpoint.

Although she wanted to classify her as the enemy - a traitor even - she couldn't. The half-baked look in Quinn's eyes made her feel guilty about even thinking about it. Steve had expressed to her how much Quinn adored her, to the point it was flattering. Natasha releases all the air in her chest in a huff of frustration.

As soon as Insight was a go she knew she'd be on the targets list, along with Fury. Quite possibly even Quinn. She was only a ploy for Pierce. She wasn't a full-blown agent, she wasn't used to fighting or killing. He used her purely to get a raise out of Rogers. As soon as he was disposed of Quinn would have to go as well.

"What if I jogged her memory using blunt trauma?" she whispers towards Fury. If they had a chance to disable anything with Insight without the help of Steve and Sam, Quinn was the best option. Fury's lips tug into a frown. "I think she's had enough head trauma to register as a concussion,"

"We have to do something," she hisses. The sound of her voice alerts Quinn, causing her to point the gun closer to her head. Natasha rolls her eyes at the feeling of the cold metallic muzzle pressing against the side of her head. She was going to die at the hands of an inexperienced newbie. Not exactly how she pictured going out.

"We wait," Fury directs her, his eyes never leaving the large window as he gazes upon the helicarriers. The helicarriers that used to belong to him. The project that used to be used for the greater good. All turned to ash because he couldn't sniff out a rat. He wasn't good enough for his job, but his job wasn't to save the world on the drop of a dime. That was the Avengers job. Or in this case, it was Steve's.

As Natasha soon started to give up on hope, there was a large crashing sound, almost like an explosion. Her eyes darted up towards the window to look at the helicarriers. They had begun firing on each other. Her lips twitched up into a small smirk. Steve was the master of last-minute miracles after all. Pierce let out a sigh of frustration as he gazes upon the destruction of Hydra's best work. "What a waste," he hisses out.

"Are you still on the fence about Rogers' chances?" Natasha wonders, a hint of sarcasm in her voice to match the ever-growing smirk on her face. Pierce rolls his eyes as he turns to face the former agents, his eyes dart towards Quinn for a moment. His head jerks towards the window, motioning for Quinn to come to his aid.

"Time to go, Councilwoman. This way, come on. You're gonna fly me out of here," Pierce instructs Natasha. Quinn gruffly grabs Natasha by the back of her upper arm, forcing her to be in step with her. At first, it seems that Natasha fights back, trying to escape by grabbing on to Quinn's arm but the muzzle of Quinn's gun meshes onto the back of Natasha's head. What Pierce and the brainwashed I.T. didn't see is the small metallic disk that Natasha had slid on to Quinn's arm. She hoped that the plan she was concocting would actually work.

"You know, there was a time I would have taken a bullet for you," Fury speaks up, distracting the Undersecretary. It doesn't seem to phase him out of his plan, it only slows his pace down a little. He turns to face Fury with a slight smirk. "You already did. You will again when it's useful,"

Just as Pierce finishes his sentence Natasha activated the small disks laying on her arm and Quinn's, the electric shock is strong enough to knock them both on the ground. Quinn appears to be unconscious along with Natasha. The brainwashed I.T.'s gun sputters across the floor, conveniently at Fury's feet. Pierce turns to see both women laying on the ground unconscious, unaware of what had just happened. He attempts to turn towards Fury to see if he had done anything but he's met with the burning sensation of a bullet whizzing through his abdomen. Then a second near his shoulder. His vision becomes hazy, and his legs give out from beneath him. "Hail...Hydra..."

Fury scurries over towards Natasha and Quinn, for the first time on this mission he feels panicked. "Romanoff! Natasha!" He shouts, nudging her shoulder in hope to wake her. "Natasha, come on!"

Natasha's eyes flutter open, the stinging sensation of the shock running through her body still. She winces as she forces to prop herself on one elbow. "Ow. Those really do sting,"

Fury lets out a low chuckle before peering over towards Quinn, her blonde locks unraveling from the bun she had put in. He absentmindedly places two fingers to her neck, checking for a pulse. It's there, it's steady, but it's slow. Something that was natural for someone who was knocked unconscious. Natasha stretches her arms above her head as she stands up along with Fury, before gazing down at the I.T. "She's alive," Fury informs the agent.

"That's good, Steve would've had a heart attack otherwise," Natasha shrugs as she peers at her nails for a moment. An explosion draws their attention from behind. They gaze out the windows to see a helicarrier falling towards the ground. One down, two to go. Natasha's attention returns to Quinn. They couldn't just leave her. Steve would go on a rampage, possibly resign from the Avengers if Quinn didn't make it. He would blame himself for everything. "Whose going to carry her?" Natasha questions, just as another smaller explosion goes off from behind.

"I can't," Fury speaks up. "I almost died. Carrying her could damage me,"

"Hey, you're not the only one to almost die, Princess," Natasha snaps, shooting a glare towards her former boss. Fury gazes towards the shoulder where she was shot at and then towards his own body which had stitches and adhesive bandages for his broken bones. He lamely looks towards Natasha, the look he throws her says _'you're better off than __me'_. It's enough to make Natasha roll her eyes furiously as she crouches down to take a hold of Quinn.

She struggles to place the unconscious woman over her shoulder, staggering as she attempts to stand upwards. She glares as she passes Fury, struggling to get to the helicopter while the ex-director nonchalantly strolls behind her. Steve made holding Quinn look so easy, but then again Steve made everything appear easy. He even made losing look easy. Natasha huffs as she places Quinn in the pit of the helicopter, hoisting herself up to grab ahold of her under her arms to fully pull her up. Fury slides into the pilot's seat of the chopper. A coy smirk appearing on his face as he watches Natasha attempt to strap Quinn into the seat across from her.

Natasha lets out a sigh of frustration as she flips her hair over her shoulder, trying to adjust herself after scrambling to get Quinn in. If Steve didn't thank her for doing this, he might end up on the same spectrum as Tony to her. "All good?" Fury calls out to her, thumb in the air for a go as Natasha places the headset over her ears. She breathlessly gives him a thumbs-up as she straps herself in.

The blades of the helicopter whip faster, causing the sound to become mind-numbing. Natasha rests her head against the back of the seat she was in. This had been a hell of a day. It hasn't ended yet. She had to keep reminding herself that the mission wasn't over until everyone they came with was retrieved. A loud explosion shakes the helicopter, forcing her to peel her eyes open. She watches out of the large window on the door as a helicarrier slams into the side of the Triskelion, causing a large gaping hole to appear. Natasha watches as she fears there may be civilians inside.

"Please, tell me you got that chopper in the air!" The familiar voice of Sam chitters over the commlink. Natasha quickly places her finger underneath the headset to press of the commlink. "Sam, where are you?" Natasha calmly questions, peering over her shoulder at Fury who's eyes have become glued to the building in search of their comrade.

"Forty-first floor, north-west corner!" Sam's voice crackles over the commlink in a panic. Fury places a thumbs up in the air, before directing the helicopter towards the collapsing building.

"We're on it, stay where you are," Natasha informs him, her stomach dropping a but as the helicopter takes a sick spin towards the building. The sounds of the concrete crumbling were loud enough to send tremors throughout the aircraft. "Not an option!" Sam shouts over the commlink.

Fury hovers near the building, being careful not to get too close to the falling debris. As the building is being destroyed, a small figure jumps out of the window causing a gasp to get stuck in Natasha's throat. It's Sam. His figure is racing dangerously fast towards the ground. "Go!" Natasha shouts over the headset towards Fury.

Her stomach once again lurches forward as the aircraft makes an abrupt turn, causing the side to come up. Her eyes glance towards the ground for a split second before she returns her gaze towards the building and more importantly Sam, who is aligned with the helicopter. Natasha makes a quick lunge as Sam slides into the helicopter, sliding across the glossy floor of the aircraft and almost of the opposite side.

Her grip is tightly wrapped around his forearm, nails digging into his skin. She strains as she pulls him up towards the center of the helicopter, away from the edge. He sits on the ground gasping and clutching on to his chest at first before whipping his head up towards Natasha but his gaze rests on Fury.

"Forty-first floor! Forty-first!" he shouts as he clamors up towards the seat next to Natasha. "It's not like they put the floor numbers on the outside of the building!" Fury counters, trying his best to navigate away from the building. Sam shakes his head in disbelief. He almost fell to his death and that was the excuse he used?

His eyes line up with the figure perched across from him. He sends a glare towards the unconscious woman. "What is she doing here?" he questions Natasha. If his memory served him right, she had tried to kill Steve but Steve had gotten the best of her. "That's Quinn," Natasha explains over the headset. "She tried to kill us!" Sam protests as he places his own headset over his ears. "She was brainwashed by Hydra. She's not usually like this,"

"And she's here why?"

"This is Steve's girl,"

It was like a light clicked on in his mind. That's why he didn't want them to pursue her or why he wouldn't lay her out in a matter of seconds when he knew he could. Sam smiled to himself as he looked over the woman's gentle features. "Steve's got a girl, huh?"

"Well," Natasha starts, her brows rising in boredom. "They're testing the waters I think. None of them will make the first move,"

"Is that right?"

A smile spreads across his face while his eyes linger on Quinn. He knew he had to do something about that if they actually survived this.


	31. CHAPTER XXXI

**CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE**

**( **FORGET ME NOT **)**

**THE INSISTENT BEEPING of the heart **rate monitor gently awakens Quinn's senses. Her hearing is the first thing that comes to. Her mind processes that she's safe, that it's fine to open her eyes but her lids refuse to open. Instead, she swallows the lump in her throat while gently groaning. A throbbing pain in her head ceases any of her movement. Something crumples beside her bed, causing her to slightly stir at the sound.

All of her senses were slowly coming to, her sense of sound, her taste. She could feel something protruding in her right wrist that snakes all the way up her arm. Her fingers gently move along side the place she was laying in. The papery sheets feel different than the sheets that line her bed.

Once again she groans. She's not at home. The heart rate monitor picks up speed as she begins to panic in her half awake state.

"Quinn?" A voice calls out to her, along with more crumpling. The voice sounds familiar, feminine, however, she can't make out who it is at first. She struggles to catch her train of thought. Her brows furrow in concentration. "Hey," the voice calls out again.

She flinches as she feels a light touch encase her upper arm in reassurance. Her eyes bolt open at the touch, sending her breathing at a gasping pace. Her heart rate skyrockets as she's blinded by the bright florescent lights in the room.

At first she's dazed, her vision is doubled as she peers out of the room to see several nurses in scrubs accompanied by a couple of doctors in white coats. Her gaze peers over at the heart rate monitor as the beeping begins to slow down, she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. She wasn't even sure if she was the one connected to it at first. One look towards her wrist at the I.V. piercing into her skin affirms that she's the one the monitor is for.

Her finger lace around the tube circling her head and forcing oxygen into her nose, the feel of it irritated her nostrils. A hand comes up to refrain her from what she's doing. Her hooded gaze lands on Jo's figure, her blue eyes filled with concern as she tugs on her hand. Quinn loosens her grip and smiles impishly towards her friend.

"You can't rip that out," Jo informs her - she associates her voice with the same that called out to her earlier. Quinn scans Jo's features. Her hand grips the magazine in her hand like a claw. Her eyes are sunken in and her lips remain in a permanent frown from worry. There's a slight bruise to the corner of her head. Quinn sits up as she notices this. Jo places a hand on her shoulder to force her to lay back down on the hospital bed. "You've been out for several hours, you need to lay down," Jo tries to coax her.

"What happened?" she questions as points towards the bruise on her head, causing Jo's lips press into a firm line.

"Let me explain," another voice offers from across the room. Quinn's eyes adjust on the figure leaning in the doorway of the room. Her cat-like features seem familiar but only vaguely. Her palms begin to sweat as the woman approaches the bedside. "Who are you?" Quinn questions just as Jo addresses her as Blair. This confuses Quinn. Had they met before? Was she one of Jo's awful friends from work?

Blair's half smile fades away to a small frown of disapproval. Her chocolate eyes throw her a look of pity and yet a hint of sadness shrouds her gaze. "You don't remember me?"

Quinn rakes her mind for a positive answer for the woman, something to reassure that she actually knew her but her memory evades her. She hated to disappoint people. She tries yet a second time, straining herself in the process and yet there are no memories of the beautiful woman peering down beside her. Quinn's lips press into a firm line as she shakes her head solemnly. The look of sadness streaks across the woman's face before she pulls up a chair from behind her, slouching into an almost relaxed position. "What's the last thing you remember?"

Quinn's brows furrow as her mind scrapes for yet another answer. There's bright flashes of what could be memories but they seem like dreams. Nothing about them screamed normal to her. They all seemed like something she wouldn't be inclined to do. She peers over towards her, something in the back of her mind tells her to be a bit guarded of the woman. "I remember jogging before work," Quinn answers as she remembers the morning vividly. She remembers the sun being in her eyes and pushing past Maddox for a short while. "Jo was there. It had been the first time in months. She's just gotten over a bad date,"

A sigh of frustration rips from Jo's throat, Quinn turns to see her friends head rest in her hands. She obviously upset about something. She can hear her sniffling. "That was months ago," Jo's voice is barely above a whisper

_What?_

Before Quinn can even open her mouth to say something, the woman - Blair - speaks up.

"Looks like we're going to have to give you a run down of everything that's happened in the past few months,"

Quinn raises her brows at the statement. _Months?_ She had forgotten months of her life? What happened to cause her memories to leave? Did she slip and fall? Has she been in a coma? All her thoughts swarmed her head causing her to groan in pain, gripping the side of her head. Jo comes to her side and asks if she's okay. Quinn brushes it off. "Just a headache," she explains with a small smile, trying not to upset Jo even more. Her head snaps towards the unfamiliar woman, her light-hearted gaze she threw at Jo was replaced by a cold and guarded look. "What happened? How do I know _you_?"

Blair sits up from her slouched position, crossing her legs across each other, her heels clicking on the ground. "Well, for starters I was your S.O.," Blair addresses causing Quinn to give her a look of confusion. _Senior Officer?_ Those only belonged to agents, or people training to be one.

"Fury assigned you to me after you had taken it upon yourself to befriend Steve Rogers and teach him about the twenty-first century -"

"I'm not an agent," Quinn interjects.

"Well," Blair chides, shrugging her shoulders and averting her eyes from Quinn's. "You weren't. But you wanted to be an agent,"

"I could never be an agent," Quinn protests. "Being an agent means cutting off the people you care for most. I couldn't do that to Jo,"

Blair let's out a sigh of frustration. "That's not what being an agent means. Look at -" She stops herself before she even mentions his name. Doing so could potentially jeopardize his family life. "You don't have to cut people off," Blair adds further, causing a wave of relief to wash over Quinn. However, she still couldn't be an agent due to her promise with her mother. "So you're my S.O.," Quinn says under her breath, nodding her head as if she's actually buying it even though all her senses say not to. "Why are you my S.O.? Something about a Steve Rogers? What makes him important?"

"Quinn," Jo beckons for her attention. "Steve Rogers is Captain America,"

Quinn's mouth immediately makes an "Oh" shape before her brows furrow at Jo. How did she know all of this? How did she even get mixed up in any of this? Quinn kept her personal and work life separate in order to protect Jo. The bruise on her temple says that Quinn did indeed endanger her by being around Steve Rogers. "What happened to your face?" she questions, pointing towards the purple bruise. Jo absentmindedly touches it and winces. "Pierce got to me," she explains in a nonchalant tone. Pierce? Alexander Pierce? The Undersecretary? Why did he have any interest in Jo?

"Pierce was the leader of Hydra," Blair's voice catches her by surprise, she returns her attention to the agent. "He abducted and brainwashed you because you were close to Steve,"

"He came to the loft once Steve learned his secret," Jo adds. "That's when he gave me this little thing and abducted you,"

Quinn looks towards the thin sheet of the hospital bed. She felt guilty knowing she blantantly put Jo in danger. She could've put her mother in danger as well. At least she was safe now.  
"It would've been nice to know," Jo pipes up, once again earning Quinn's questioning glance. "To know you worked for a government agency and not some random business. That way I could've prepared in case something like this happened,"

Quinn bites down on her lower lip. It was a direct jab to her heart. To see Jo upset because she had been reckless damaged her morale. She had been injured due to her stupidity. This was something she could never forgive herself for. "I'm sorry," was all Quinn could muster out at the moment, her eyes threatened to burn with tears. This wasn't all Steve Rogers fault, this was hers as well.

"Did you know him?" she hesitantly questions Jo. It takes her friend a moment to get who she was referring to but once she realizes she snorts in return.

"Know him? He came over all the time for your _"lessons"_," Jo smirks. Quinn frowns at her. She may have a head trauma and possibly a mild case of amnesia but she knew what sarcasm was still. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Something thumps against her legs, startling her. She peers over to see Blair standing up above her bedside with her hands stretched out. Below her hands, on Quinn's legs, is a brown leather jacket. Her mind instantly recalls this jacket belonging to Steve Rogers. She looks at it in question as she vaguely remembers this. Her hands absentmindedly grab at the jacket.

Her hands feel along the cool, smooth, exterior in her hands. Even the smell of it was familiar. She knew this jacket, she just couldn't remember how. "Whenever he went on a mission he would give you this," Blair informs her causing Quinn's cheeks to heat up with a light blush.

Is that _really_ how she knew the jacket? Her fingers trace along the embroidery on the pocket says it belongs to an "S. Rogers". How did she know it was his just by a glance, without Blair even telling her? How did she know that she would keep it all the time? Even wear it occasionally? How? Her brows furrow as she traces the lines of the creases in the jacket. "So this is Steve Rogers's?" she questions aloud.

"Yes," Blair confirms, causing Quinn's eyes to narrow at her.

"The same Steve Rogers as in Captain America? As in the Avengers?"

"Yes," she repeats.

"And he would give this to me when he went on missions so I wouldn't worry?"

"Yes," Blair's voice was starting to teeter on the edge of sounding annoyed.

"And we both have feelings for each other?"

"Well," she starts looking everywhere but at Quinn. Jo let's out a low whistle, avoiding the question as well. Quinn flips her head to the side and narrows her eyes at Jo, giving her an incredulous look until she breaks. She was never the type to keep a secret unlike herself. "You guys have feelings for each other, it's so obvious," Jo states, biting down on her lower lip as if she had just told a huge secret. Quinn rolls her eyes. Even though the hit sensation of her cheeks says what Jo is saying is true she denies any feelings for the hero. She glances up at Blair for affirmation. Surly she'd know if this was a lie or not. But Quinn gets an answer she can't handle. "Yep."

Her mind draws a blank on the whole situation at hand. She was brainwashed, but before she was brainwashed she was seeing _the_ Captain America? Unlikely.

"But you are so focused on not getting hurt and protecting me and your mom that you deny your feelings for him," Jo inhales a deep breath before continuing knowing that Quinn was surly malfunctioning at the mere mention of her afflicted feelings for the Avenger. "A-a-and he is so _god awful_ at flirting and acting on his feelings towards you. You two have never gotten around to admit it," Quinn places her head in her hands as she takes all of this in. She even holds an index finger up to stop the chattering as she takes all this information in and processes it. She and Captain America had feelings for each other? _Impossible._

"So let me get this straight," Quinn speaks up and directly at her two guests, quickly coming out of her frustrated state. "You two want me to go up to him, after being brainwashed and beating him up, and you want me to ask him on a date?"

Out of nowhere she begins to half-heartedly laugh. The whole idea of her being with Captain America sounded preposterous. Why would he want a nobody like her? She was just and I.T. with a handful of issues. The laugh she emits almost sounds like a genuine hysterical laugh until she stops out of the blue with a frown on her face. "Are you two out of your minds!"

"What?" Jo pipes in as if she was offended by the statement. She opens her mouth to further protests but Blair stops her by placing her hand in a stopping motion. Jo quickly clamps her mouth shut, groaning with agitation and crossing her arms across her chest. She hated feeling undermined by the agent. Quinn glares up at the agent, a tight lipped scowl overtaking her features. Blair rolls her eyes. If she wasn't close to either her or Steve she wouldn't be here. She looks back down at Quinn with a challenging glance. "Once you see Steve, you'll know we're right," Blair attests in a calm voice. "You'll see. I know it from experience,"

She hoists her purse over her shoulder, wincing as the pain courses through her body. Her wounds still haven't fully healed since the highway attack. Quinn stares up at her, her blue eyes holding a questioning yet defensive look. The look of someone who had been betrayed. "You can probably find your file online," Blair admits. "After S.H.I.E.L.D. was compromised, Natasha released all it's secrets. If you don't believe us, you can find that informs on the website,"

Blair's gaze then drifts towards Jo. She hadn't known her for very long, just the few hours that Quinn was knocked out. No doubt she'll be just as curious as Quinn when it comes to the information. "I have to be with Natasha for the committee hearing," she directs this information towards the roommate. "Steve is in room A234. He wasn't up when I was there. Maybe you should see him when you're out,"

With the ever present list of questions that Quinn had for her, she turns on her heel and heads out of the room. She only turns back to look at her once she hits the doorframe, her fingers grasping on to the cool metal. Quinn's eyes were still filled with question but they were also pleading to tell her more information. Blair pushes the need to tell her everything to the back of her mind. She needed to figure this out on her own. Her lips twitch up in a small smile, the first genuine one she's shown her trainee. She then proceeds to exit without taking another look back. If she did it would be hard on her. This would be the last time she saw her before leaving for her mission.

_**BOOK ONE: THE WINTER SOLDIER **_

**IT HAD BEEN two days of** constant needy nurses and doctors flogging her room every hour to see if she was feeling fine. They determined that the damage to her memory was too severe to even attempt risking a surgery to replace them. She didn't even think it was possible, but after the two CAT scans and drinking the warm, chalky fluid to prepare for the scan she thought maybe they could potentially fix her.

She couldn't lie to herself and say that she wasn't disappointed when they told her they couldn't. Jo had been up to see her each day she was in bed, telling her how hard it is to be with Rudolph alone. She noticed how she held her tongue about questions about S.H.I.E.L.D. and her time spent working for them.

Jo was big on conspiracy theories. She never really believed in them but always thought they were interesting. Of course there were conspiracy theories about S.H.I.E.L.D. And of course she wanted to know all about them but her friends recovery was more important than anything.

Quinn had also learned about Josh, he even visited for an hour to help jog her memory. It didn't work. It only helped make matters worse as she felt uncomfortable with him in the room. At night when she was alone she'd cry. Hydra had used her and had stolen her memories of being happy.

She felt robbed, unprotected. She never slept well, knowing that Hydra could still possibly be out there plotting their next move. Coming for her. She tries to push back the lingering thoughts of being brainwashed again as she wanders the hospital halls.

Today she had finally been released from their care since she was deemed unfit to go in for surgery to repair the damage to her brain. Apparently they scrambled and fried her brain like eggs. At least that's how the doctor described it.

Even though Jo was by her side she still felt uncomfortable. All the eyes from patients, doctors, and nurses glanced at her. All their looks read, _"That's the girl. That's the girl from __S.H.I.E.L.D.__ that tried to kill Captain America"_. Her arms grip around the leather jacket tighter, making it squeak in her grasp.

Jo couldn't read their faces, she only smiled at a few of them. Quinn could feel her face become hot with embarrassment. It's not like she chose to be brainwashed. It was against her will. Did they not read that? Why were they all throwing her glares and whispering to one another? Her thoughts seemed to run a mile a minute from the newfound stress. She had never liked being the center of attention. Especially when it's for the wrong reason.

Jo places a hand on her back, patting it lightly and drawing Quinn's attention away from her own self hatred. "Are you okay? We don't have to do this is you don't want to," Jo urges, her brows furrowing with concern. Quinn shakes her head and grips the jacket tighter to her chest. "I have to. It's the only way. Maybe I can remember once I see him," Quinn replies. Jo studies the deep circles under her friends eyes, along with the redness in them. She just wanted things to go back to normal.

Jo let's out a sigh before continuing to walk towards the guarded hospital room. She had been to see Steve several times since Quinn's stay but this was the first time she'd see him. Quinn felt anxious. Steve could possibly jog her memories, even though the doctors listed that as damn near impossible. Jo didn't like that she was putting all her eggs in one basket as well but followed along for support.

She felt nervous under the gaze of the guards that were stationed on the outside of the room. If she didn't know it was Steve lying in there she would've mistaken the room being occupied by a royal. Jo smiles up at the guards as she introduces herself and Quinn, noting that they'd be on the list of people who can visit. The guards face held no emotion as he stepped aside for them, opening the door in the process.

"He's still out," Jo notes in a disappointed tone. Quinn's nerves were on their ends as she entered the room. She couldn't bring herself to look at Steve. Even if he was knocked out she couldn't help but think this was partially her fault. She could even feel a few tears start to prick at her eyes before she quickly swallows her pride.

Finally, she peers towards the sleeping Avenger. Heart rate monitor beeping, I.V. fluids running through tubes that stuck out from his arms, bruises lining his face. This wasn't the Captain America she was used to seeing on T.V. or even in glimpses of him at S.H.I.E.L.D. She felt an enormous wave of guilt hit her, causing her to hastily sit down in the chair beside him. She knew she had caused this. If she hadn't of been so close to him maybe Hydra would've gone a little easy on him.

However, this was Hydra.

What hit her even harder was the fact that, even though she was looking right at him, even though she could touch and talk to him, she still couldn't remember him.

All the stories that Jo and Blair had told her meant nothing if she couldn't recall doing anything with him. A warm tear trickled its way down her cheek, leaving a cool trail. She didn't want to cry but she couldn't help herself. She snaked her hand under the thick blanket the hospital had provided for the Avenger and grasped his large hand tightly as a sob ripped through her chest. "I'm so sorry,"

The scene that Jo was witnessing made a small tear run down her cheek that she quickly swiped away. She could tell that Quinn couldn't remember Steve wholly but watching her grip on to him while sobbing made her heart clench. Deep down Quinn must've known him somehow or else she wouldn't be acting like this. "I'll give you a moment," she mumbles, backing out of the room, her eyes never leaving her friend.

Quinn didn't even seem to notice, she only wanted to be close to Steve. Even though she couldn't remember him, she felt at ease and comforted just in his presence. She felt awful about his health and how she affected it. There was nothing she could do but sob at his bedside feeling sorry for him and blaming herself. If there was any way at getting a chance to have her memories come back about him she'd do anything.

Although she can't remember him, she feels like she knows him personally which hurts her even worse. She didn't just know him, she cared for him. Seeing him like this, knowing the pain he went through was like someone had stabbed her in the chest repeatedly. She never would have wished this upon anyone let alone Steve.

Her fingers interlock with his, making the motion a little more intimate. She half expects him to wake up but when she looks at his face she's disheartened. This was Captain America. The First Avenger. The man who came out of the ice after a seventy year sleep. A man who would sacrifice himself for the greater good. Someone who she knew, someone who she cared about. Someone who she could possibly love.

Her cheeks flush as she remembers the stories that Blair and Jo told her about them being close. Close enough to be together. Blair's story made her even more embarrassed, knowing that she had once kissed him in public. The circumstances were dire but the butterflies she got in her stomach when she told the story told her that the feelings were real and genuine.

Were they in love?

Quinn shakes her head from side to side, clearing any thoughts of being with Steve. It seemed like a fantasy. Besides, she couldn't drag him into her life it was too chaotic and she carried too much baggage. She places the jacket that belonged to him on the bed, across his lap. It wasn't hers to keep. In a bold move, she swipes her hand across his cheek before planting her lips on it in a firm and quick peck. A get better kiss. With tears in her eyes, Quinn fixes herself up and leaves the room without looking back.


	32. CHAPTER XXXII

**CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO**

**( **COUP DE FOURDE **)**

**THE**** UNMISTAKABLE SOFT lull of jazz** drifts throughout the hospital room. The room is filled with a warm light, along with flowers and balloons wishing the Avenger a speedy recovery. Steve's eyes slightly drift open, his senses too drowsy to even register Amy signs of danger. Yet for some reason, he didn't feel endangered at all. Perhaps it was the familiar sound of the heart rate monitor and the sound of people milling around outside of the room that alerted him that he was in the hospital.

What surprised him was the music. It was unfamiliar to him, but he could identify it as a form of smooth jazz. Nothing like the jazz he grew up with. This was soft, endearing, and told a story. His jaw feels like hell, yet despite the sudden urge to claw at his cheek his arms remain at his sides.

His eyes drift over to his right side to notice the familiar stature of Sam Wilson sitting next to him, magazine in hand. The iPod perched on the bedside table next to him displayed the words _"Trouble Man"_ in large white letters. He tried to smile but his jaw protests this action.

"On your left," he mutters out under his breath. Sam places the magazine down in his lap and lightly smiles at the wounded Avenger whose eyes remained shut. Only a few moments later he barely opens his eyes to take if his features. "I feel like hell," he mumbles, his voice still groggy from the medicine that was given.

Sam chuckles lowly. "You look like hell," he admits, gazing at the large gash that ran beside his mouth. His face also featured an array of bruises he had collected by several opponents. Steve attempts to let out a small laugh but fails to do so, only making the cut of his lip split by smiling.

He couldn't remember how he got here, but he specifically remembered bringing down Insight. That was a load off his chest. To know that millions of people were off Hydra's list and to attempt to eradicate Hydra. "How long have I been out?" he questions, stretching his arms out from underneath the thick blanket the hospital provided him.

Sam tilts his head from side to side trying to remember when Hydra's downfall took place. "'Bout a week," he answers, earning a groan from Steve. A week was too long for him to sleep and recover. He was in the ice for seventy years, sleep was the last thing he needed.

As he stretches his legs he feels something slide off of his knees and towards his feet. He attempts to catch it but his wounds protest him from any sudden movement. He winces in pain and grabs his left side, only to feel a large cotton piece of gauze covering up the area. It takes him a moment to remember what had happened. Bucky had shot him. Bucky. He turns to Sam with a questioning look. "Bucky?" his voice cracks in the process of the question. Sam sighs and merely shakes his head. "We couldn't locate him after the wreckage, it's unclear whether he made it out or not -"

"He did," Steve cuts him off abruptly. "I can feel it,"

Sam's lips press into a thin line before accepting Steve's stubbornness. "You saved a lot of people, Cap," Sam tries to assure him. "We saved a lot of people," Steve corrects him, causing Sam's brows to raise in surprise. "You were there. Don't cut yourself short," he comments, forcing Sam to smile. Even after everything he went through he wanted to focus on the positive. It was time he returned the favor.

"You know," he starts, earning Steve's attention once again. "We couldn't find Bucky, but we did find your girl," he announces, gesturing a nod in the direction of the item that had fallen to his feet. Steve peers down to the edge of the bed to find his leather jacket. He distinctly remembers giving it to Quinn before he headed off to New Jersey. "You've had a lot of visitors," Sam adds, addressing all the flowers and cards in the room. "But none visit as often as she did," Sam left out the fact that he had visited him almost every single day, knowing he wasn't interested in that aspect.

"How is she?"

Sam hums at the question. He's only seen her a handful of times but each time she comes in she looks better and better. Her eyes were no longer sunken in from sleep deprivation, she was happy. Or at least she pretended to be. He wasn't exactly sure how she could be after losing her memory like that. "Better," is all Sam can muster out at the time. He grunts as he readjusts in the uncomfortable hospital chair they had given him. "The effect of Hydra's brain manipulation has caused her some trauma," he admits. Steve furrows his brows as best as he could at the statement. "Trauma?" he repeats.

Sam let out a heavy sigh before answering, "She's lost parts of her memory. She can't remember anything if it's happened in the past few months. Including you,"

The news sends Steve back, he lays his head back down on the pillow and faces towards the door. She couldn't remember him? It hurt him on a certain level that he couldn't imagine feeling pain at. However, he comes to terms that if she hadn't been his instructor - if he hadn't been around her; she'd be fine, normal even. That was the life he wished he could give her back instead of this new one where she's scared and memory-less.

He lets out a long sigh as he thinks about her. He had made a promise to her that he wouldn't put her in harm's way yet he had and the repercussions were what he deserved for getting that close to somebody in this day and age. "Why does she even visit?" he questions lazily.

Sam can see that even the renowned Avenger was going through some existential debate. He was troubled. He had lost his job, best friend, and the girl he fancied in the same day. "Because she wants to remember you," Sam answers, hoping to cheer him up. Steve rolls his eyes at the answer, only thinking that he was saying that to make him feel better. He didn't need anyone's pity.

"You were the focal point of her life for the past few months. Without you, she would be stuck trying to recollect those memories without any help," Sam pauses for a moment to lick his lips as he peers at Steve's disheartened face. He had to do something to make him get out of this funk. "She comes by every day. Tells you all the things that she's slowly starting to remember. Tells you stories about you and her that she's heard from her friend just in case you had forgotten her too. Hoping you'd wake up,"

"That's really sweet," Steve admires with a soft smile.

"It's really gross," Sam declares with a smirk. "And kind of sad. I feel bad in a way," he trails off thinking to the small blonde woman who had once attempted to attack them has now become innocent and almost child-like with the hope that was filled within her. "Will she come by today?" Steve questions, a hint of excitement in his voice. Sam smirks at the smitten super soldier and shakes his head. "Nah, said something about packing today since she and her friend are moving,"

Steve furrows his brows at this comment. Moving? Was this because of the downfall of S.H.I.E.L.D. She doesn't have a job to be moving around. "Where?" he asks, concern flooding his voice. Rightly so as the questions swarmed his mind about what she would be doing, where she could be going. "New York," Sam simply answers. "Says she's got family up there. Her mom, I think,"

Even though his mind was panicked for a moment the fact that she was moving to be closer to her mom seemed to relax him. Quinn was in desperate need of seeing her mother, especially after being manipulated by Hydra.

Although he knew their relationship was rocky there was no doubt that seeing her mother would make her feel better. Comforted even. And thankfully Mrs. Cruise lived in New York. He kindly smiles and nods his head at the statement. It made sense to visit family after a traumatic event. His attention turns to Sam as he watches him lean towards the bed, grabbing the iPod and pausing it so the music would stop.

"Between you and me," he whispers, causing Steve to strain to hear him. "You've got to make the first move," he finishes with a sly smirk, leaning back to his original spot. Steve lightly chuckles as he returns to laying down on the pillow, pressing down on the red button to call in a nurse. Sam smiled as he knew what he was doing. He needed to get out and fast. He had to see her before she left.

**_BOOK ONE: THE WINTER SOLDIER _**

**"SO, LIKE, THE men in black,** they're not real right?" Jo questions as Quinn rips off a piece of packing tape to shut a box. The blonde rolls her eyes at the question. It had been a week of non-stop questions about any government agency that Jo could think of. Were the majestic twelve real? Who actually shot JFK? Was Tupac still alive? Everything that Jo could think of she asked with no filter nor hesitation. "I don't know," she answers with a shrug, placing another piece of tape on the box labeled **"KITCHEN"**. "All the information that was in S.H.I.E.L.D. was leaked out by Natasha. You know as much as I do -"

"Yeah, but do I?" Jo's tone had gone from a sweet questioning tone to an irritated, distrustful tone. Sort of a slap to the face to Quinn. She didn't want to hurt Jo by not telling her she just didn't want her to get in danger. Who knows who she would've told during her party days. There could've been break-ins and abductions. Even though that actually _did_ happen due to her being close to Captain America. Quinn's eyes drop to the floor instinctively, her moderate pace of packing comes to a slow. "I was only trying to protect you, Jo," Quinn states, earning an eye roll from her friend. "I didn't want to put you in harm's way and I did and I'm sorry. I already apologized, I don't know what more you want me to do -"

"I need you to recognize that you weren't just endangering me, you were putting yourself in harm's way!" Jo finally breaks, dropping down to her knees in front of Quinn to look at her in the eyes. Quinn refuses to even look at her and begins packing things even faster. "I said I was sorry," Quinn hisses out. "And I know I put myself in harm's way, okay. And I paid the price!"

This hits Jo in a deep gashing way. She hadn't forgotten that she had lost her memory but causing a fight over her holding out about her job and the repercussions that affected her for being secretive wasn't mending their relationship. "Better me than you," Quinn states, as she slumps against the base of the kitchen island. "You wouldn't even remember Josh if you lost your memories,"

Jo had filled her in on the details of the past couple of months. How she and Josh were together and moving in together, how her mother's condition was worsening, how Maddox tried to bully her into dating him, all on top of her being around Steve.

It was a miracle she could juggle all of that. When Jo informed her of how she and Josh met she couldn't help but laugh, she never thought she'd actually punch a man in the face, let alone knock him out.

Jo's heart saddens as she peers down at Quinn. She had no recollection of Steve, no way to tell if she even liked him. She couldn't even imagine what she'd do in her shoes. Rudolph circles the two women sitting on the light wooden floor of the kitchen, his tail thumping against the island as he approaches Quinn.

He nuzzles at her face with his cold wet nose despite her protests of wanting him to go away. He laps up the tears that threaten to spill from her eyes, causing her to hold back a sob. She had worked so hard for everything for the past five years and now it was like everything was disappearing like her memories. "I'm sorry," Jo apologizes, her voice barely above a whisper. "I'm just a little hurt is all. I thought I could trust you -"

"You can -"

"I do, it's just hard to believe you were an agent,"

Quinn snorts at the statement as she fluffs up the golden fur of the retriever who refused to leave her side. "I couldn't be an agent. I have you," she answers with a smile. This was the first genuine smile she had seen since before the accident. Actually, she hadn't seen her smile like this in a while, way before she met Steve.

This makes Jo start to tear up. She had been her best friend for years. She had always been there to help clean up after her messes, support her during college, she was a shoulder to cry on when her heart got broken. Now she was moving across the country. It starts as a small sniffle but then increases in volume.

Quinn peers at her questionably before she throws her arms around her. "What am I going to do without you?" Jo whimpers out, her voice muffled by Quinn's shoulder. Quinn's brows raise in surprise as it takes a moment to realize what was happening. She smiles softly before enclosing her arms around Jo as well.

"You'll survive," she whispers, a sob threatening to rip through her. They had been through so much together, it was painful to say goodbye to her and to everything that they had established within the last five years. The comfort of coming home to someone was going to be replaced by the sound of nothingness for her. She was truly going to be alone. At times she had wished for this, but in reality, she didn't want to be alone. She didn't know if she could handle it.

She lets Jo sob on to her shoulder as a few tears slip down her cheeks. She had to be the one to hold her composure. She always did. Jo pulls away, wiping her nose and eyes clear of any wetness. Quinn cringes at the thought of snot being on her shirt but shoves it aside to throw a comforting look towards Jo. "You'll be okay," she assures while petting the golden retriever that stood next to them, waiting for the right opportunity to lick someone's face. "Besides you have Rudolph,"

Jo pats the golden furred dog as he happily wags his tail at the attention he was receiving. "Yeah, about that," Jo's lips tug downward into an awkward smile, causing Quinn to look at her in question. "Our apartment complex doesn't allow dogs, so I was hoping you could take him. You just spend more time with him than me anyway,"

Quinn looks at the floor before looking towards Rudolph. An eighty-pound dog in a Midtown apartment didn't seem to go together, yet, seeing Rudolph in a pound or with another family didn't seem right either. Quinn nods her head as she pets the dog she had gotten too fond of. "Yeah, sure," she says shortly. "I don't think I can have dogs, but I'm willing to sneak him in," Jo seems a bit distracted by the sound of some engine coming from the outside, a smile appears on her face.

The sound is familiar but Quinn doesn't put too much thought into it. It could just belong to one of the neighbor's janky cars. "So you're going to take him?" Jo asks once again, earning a nod from Quinn for confirmation. She sticks her hand out and strokes the fur of the dogs back, relaxing her nerves a bit. This was something she was going to miss.

A few tears threaten to escape from her lashes as she thinks of when she first got Rudolph. More importantly who was there with her - Quinn. Two of her main rocks were moving away. "I'm going to call him every night," Jo teases earning a sigh from Quinn. "You know, if Miami isn't dog-friendly then why are you moving there? Why can't you move to New York?"

"Because Josh has family in Florida," Jo informs her. "Besides, he's got a big break teaching English at one of the schools,"

"Right. I forgot he was a nerd,"

Jo playfully punches Quinn in the arm causing her to laugh. Although she can't remember Josh and Jo's history together, she has seen them interact with each other in the past few days. Josh was different from the other guys that Jo dated. He actually cared about her and was willing to make her happy. She was leaving Jo in good hands. "We'll be up to see you whenever there's a hurricane," Jo reminds her, causing her to roll her eyes. "Even the small ones?"

"Even the tropical storms," Jo promises with a smirk.

"Great," Quinn huffs out teasingly while smiling. She knew that this had to be a joke. Jo would eventually get used to the hurricane's and would only evacuate when there was a particularly large one. Or she would document it and send it to her and she'd worry for several days until she received confirmation that she was alive and well. Jo looks towards her phone and makes a humming noise before standing up. "I have to go to dinner with Josh. Are you okay with packing for a little while?" she announces, causing her friend to scoff.

Quinn begrudgingly nods in agreement. She didn't want to be the only one packing. Rudolph runs towards the door, tilting his head as he listens to the outside, no one seemed to notice this. "I'll be sure to bring some back," Jo adds, putting on her jacket and grabbing her keys. "I want an invite to your wedding," Quinn calls over her shoulder jokingly. She hears the door open and listens to Rudolph whine for a moment before calming down.

"Yeah, I want one to yours too," Jo throws back confusing Quinn.

She whips her head around to see Jo exiting the loft with a large grin on her face for only a second before the large stature of Steve Rogers with Rudolph in his arms covers her up for a speedy escape.

Quinn stands immediately, backing away from the Avenger in a defensive way as Rudolph continues licking his face. She studies his figure from a distance. His hair, his stature, the kind demeanor he displayed towards Rudolph in his arms - like it was some sort of routine; Jo and Blair weren't lying.

She and the Captain America were friends.

Her muscles became relaxed. If Rudolph was enjoying his company instead of angrily barking then he was welcome in the loft. However, Rudolph enjoyed everyone's company, he was a golden retriever. She watches as Rudolph hops out of his arms with ease, tail wagging behind him as he crosses over towards her and then paces back to Steve. At first, they didn't speak to each other. They just looked at one another, examining, analyzing to see what they were comfortable with.

Steve didn't want to upset Quinn by acting like his regular self at the time, it may cause her to react badly. Quinn didn't want to be too open with Steve, knowing how badly she was hurt by doing that in the first place. She watches as Steve slowly reaches into his back pocket, her mind runs with panic for a moment, her muscles start to tense up as she thinks he's going to pull some sort of weapon out.

She feels incredibly stupid when he pulls out a paperback copy of _Magnificent Desolation_. It wasn't just _a_ copy of the book, it was hers. He slowly approaches her, book in hand, his eyes looking towards the floorboards of the kitchen. He looks into her eyes for a mere moment to read the confusion, it almost hurt him to see her like this. "I finished," he announces, as he hands the book back to her. Confusion and wonder spreading all over her face. "I had enough time while waiting to be released,"

Quinn makes an, "Oh," sound as she realizes what he meant. "Thank you," she replies, pushing a strand of her hair back behind her ear. She can feel her face starting to heat up with the closeness of the Avenger. She must've been close to him before or else the butterflies in her stomach wouldn't exist. She wasn't the type of person to just get a crush just by looking at someone.

She was the type of person who fell for someone's personality, their morals, not just looks. Having him stand in front of her awake was different than talking to him while he was sleeping. She felt somewhat intimidated, nervous. Her tongue felt too dry to form any words. "It was Neil Armstrong, by the way," he speaks up, catching her off guard. Her brows knit together as she tries to piece together what he was saying. He quickly realizes that she may not understand, his hand nervously touches the back of his neck.

"When we had our first official lesson, it was about the moon landing," he informs her. "You said it was Buzz Aldrin to first step on the moon. It was actually Neil Armstrong,"

Quinn nervously chuckles. Had she said that? You wanted to internally scream at her stupidity but repressed it for another time. "It was at that lesson that I found out you liked space," he teases her with a gentle smile. So he knew she liked space. _Way to show him your inner nerd on the first lesson weirdo,_ Quinn thought to herself. "So New York, huh?" he nervously pipes up, not wanting the conversation to go stale. "Ever been?"

"Yeah, once or twice," she admits, nodding her head. "I know it's expensive but I feel like I need to be closer to -"

"Your mom?" he finishes her sentence, causing her to step back creating some distance between them. She had told him about her mother too? Was she too open to him? The fact that he stuck around after she unloaded her emotional baggage was a blessing. Maybe he wanted to help her.

"How'd you know?" she questions, it comes out defensive but she didn't mean it to sound like that. Steve absentmindedly closes the distance between them once again, making Quinn's cheeks heat up by the close proximity. "We were close, we were _really_ close," he emphasizes. His eyes were filled with sorrow as he looks down upon her. "I'm sorry for what they did to you," his voice is barely above a whisper.

Without any hesitation and any thought, her hand touches the solid bruise on his eye, almost making it swell shut. Then she scans over the gash on the side of his lip. She grumbles to herself in self-hatred. "Did I do any of this?" she questions him in paranoia.

He can see the worry in her eyes as she won't stop looking at all the cuts and bruises on him. To be fair, she had already done that in the past but this time was different. This time he could tell she was blaming herself for every little scratch. He places his larger hand on top of her hand that touched his bruised eye, gently nudging her away. "No," he states firmly. "You didn't do any of this,"

Quinn's lips tug into a frown. "But Blair says we -"

"We did," he confirms. "You did. Blair taught you well," he tries to chuckle to lighten the mood but Quinn's face remains sour and hurt. This was not a side that he was used to seeing. He has seen her mad, he's seen her sad. He's never seen her like this. It was a combination of both of those emotions plus despair, desperation, depression, hurt.

"I'm sorry, I can't remember the things that happened between us," Quinn whimpers out, her bottom lip threatening to quiver. She takes in a deep breath as she returns her gaze to the floor. She was stupid in hoping that seeing him awake would jog her memories back. It was like she was a child wishing for a present she wanted but never got.

"This is my fault," his voice drops from it's cheerful tone to downright depressing. Instinctively, Quinn places her hand on his shoulder to comfort him. As he gazes up towards her he notices that she's forced a small smile on her face. "Hey, I'm sure it's not all your fault. It must be mine too," she states, attempting to cheer him up. It fails but he likes that she's trying to help out. That was Quinn. Putting other's needs and feelings before hers.

"Do you remember anything from the past few months?" he pries, something that was odd for him to do. He watches as Quinn shake her head once while pursing her lips. "Not even the mall?"

"No, I'm so sorry. Did something important happen?"

Steve purses his lips as he looks down at her, looking towards her lips then back towards her eyes. "No," he states, calmly. "Don't worry about it,"

Quinn feels horrible. Something definitely happened during that time or else he wouldn't have brought it up. She just didn't know what and it was starting to bug her. For some reason, she hated to see him frown.

She sucks in a deep breath trying to calm her nerves as she decides to tell him what's going on. She had never been good at admitting feelings. She gazes up at him, giving him another soft smile. "I'm sure we can become friends again," she sympathizes, causing Steve to perk a brow up to find out what she was toying at. "We did it before, we can now,"

Her hand outstretches from her body as she takes a couple of steps back, placing the two at a much more comfortable distance. "My name is Quinn Cruise," she introduces herself with a small smirk.

For some reason witnessing her try to start from square one makes his heart clench. His heart was telling him that he didn't want to start from square one again, not when he had gotten so close to her before. His mind, on the other hand, wanted to give her distance. After all, it was her closeness with him that got her memories wiped. Worse things could happen if they got closer. Quinn bites her lip at the hesitation that Steve was displaying, her fingers could only be outstretched for so long before it started to hurt. In a moment's notice, Steve's hand was latching on to hers, shaking it. His small smirk matched hers. "Steve Rogers,"

* * *

A/N

TGFI! I've decided to actually put up the last chapter. This wraps up Winter Soldier and will eventually lead into Age of Ultron starting with act two which will be available January 3rd. I want to personally apologize for the hiatus as I just wanted to take a break for the holidays. Also it's NaNoWriMo so during this month I will be posting an original story of mine up on Wattpad every single day (hopefully I can crank this out).

I'd also like to thank all of you for your appreciation of this story! Seeing your reviews and favorites and follows makes me happy and it makes me want to write more of Quinn's story.

I must say I have this whole series planned out all the way through Endgame and I have outlines of each chapter reaching to just the beginning of Endgame. I personally think this story isn't just about Steve and Quinn's relationship, it's mainly about Quinn. I don't want her to just be a potential love interest hanging on to Steve, every step he takes during the MCU, I want her to be a fully well-developed character who doesn't rely on him. In Age of Ultron you'll be able to explore her character even more as changes happen since she moves to New York (some good, some bad).

Anyways, I hope you'll stay tuned and come back on January 3rd when Book Two: Age of Ultron becomes available! And remember to have a happy holiday season! - Moonie


	33. CHAPTER XXXIII

**CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE**

**( **THE BIG APPLE** )**

**A COOL GUST of wind racks** through the trees in Central Park. The branches swayed violently, then gently loosened up. The leaves had just started to turn their vibrant hues of red, yellow, and orange. The whistling wind took ahold of some of the fallen leaves and began to let them soar, a few dogs chased after them in the large fields. Quinn couldn't help but chuckle at them as she placed her hands in her pockets, trying to keep them from freezing off.

She was thankful that it was finally a sunny day instead of the overcast cloudy days they had been having. Hopefully, it would be a good day to take her mother outside. Perhaps they could even play a game. She hadn't received a call from her on-call nurse Monyce, which was always a good sign.

She hugged her jacket closer to her body. Usually, she'd have no problem with autumn; she actually enjoyed it - who wouldn't? But being surrounded by skyscrapers that reduced the sunlight and created ungodly drafts it was hard to appreciate in New York. Her phone vibrates in her pocket, making her even more alert than what she had been. Walking alone in New York was blissful but it was also a curse. She could get mugged at any time. Though there were hardly any muggings in broad daylight on a main path through Central Park.

She squints as she looks down at the screen on her phone. An event invite? _Halloween Bash!_ Accompanied by a load of emoticons of dancing people and alcohol. She rolls her eyes at the invite. Of course, it was hosted by Jo. Did she really expect to fly all the way across the country for one night? They had only been separated for a month. She also calls consistently. Their communication was flawless compared to the other friendships she had.

Hopefully, she didn't mind her decline. She slips her phone back into her pocket as she reaches the front doors of the hospital. The warmth of the air inside encased her in a sweet embrace. She smiles at the security officer as he sits at his desk beside the elevators, pressing the button to call for one. She doesn't wait in the uncomfortable silence for long as an elevator from behind her rings, begging for her attention.

She gives one last awkward smile to the security officer before pressing the button to her mother's floor. Floor sixteen. The cognition department. The department that took most of her money. Ran by none other than Doctor Meredith Woodruff - the leading scientist and doctor in degenerate brain diseases.

As the doors fly open she's greeted by a familiar face, Monyce. She appeared to be out of breath, a few flyaways swept out of her up-do causing her to look like she had just been in a tornado. Quinn gives her a concerned look before stepping out from the elevator. "What happened?"

"Oh you know," Monyce shrugs as she pants. "The usual. I was just being pulled aside by two different parties,"

Quinn hums at this, pressing her lips into a thin line. "Was she one of them?" She watches with embarrassment as the short nurse nods her head. Her mother must've put up a hell of a fight with her today. It wasn't unusual to have her mother to start a yelling match between herself and a nurse or a doctor or the unnerving patients that decided to wander into her room. "I'll talk to her," Quinn assures the nurse with a small smile while patting her on the shoulder.

"If you need help, call someone. I'm going on break," Monyce calls over her shoulder, just as she steps into the elevator. Quinn tries her best to not make blatant eye contact with most of the patients that milled about. Usually, they were cooperative, but some could be combative with not knowing where they were.

She smiles at an elderly woman in a wheelchair across the hall from her mother's room. Mrs. Landry was how Doctor Woodruff introduced her, however, she preferred to be called Countess. Her memories were mainly gone, and all that resided in her mind was this fantasy land that she had created. Her son who would come to visit was known as her Butler - little did she know that he was a journalist that lived in upper Manhattan. A place that she couldn't afford. Her eyes skim the small sign next to the room. _Marianne Cruise._

She enters her mother's room quietly, trying her best not to disrupt her. She was leaning on the windowsill looking out at the tall skyscrapers that surrounded the hospital. Her mother was beautiful, in a sense. Her once golden hair was fading into a soft ashy blonde color, there were wrinkles starting to form beside her eyes from where she used to smile. At a glance it'd be hard to tell if she really had early-onset dementia, she looks normal. Sometimes she can act civil too.

It was moments like this that made Quinn miss her mother the most. She feels an immense amount of guilt from blocking her out of her life, even resenting her. She always believed her mother didn't belong here, but it's not like she had that much of a choice. As the door creaks shut it catches her mother's attention. Her head snaps in Quinn's direction, her clouded blue eyes shrouded in defense as she glares at Quinn. The moment her eyes catch sight of her daughter they soften.

"String-bean is that you?" she questions, her voice croaking in the process. "Yeah, ma," Quinn answers, shrugging off her jacket and placing it o the chair. She notes the cup of water sitting on the nightstand beside her bed tipped over, water spilling out onto the floor. She scoffs at the sight of it before scooping it up and placing it upright.

"What are you doing here?" her mother questions, her arms crossed against her chest as Quinn grabs a roll of paper towel and begins cleaning the water up. With how much she paid, she figured they'd do a better job at cleaning up after an episode. Quinn shrugs at the question. "Just came to visit," she sighs out. She's visited her mother every single day off she could get. Doctor Woodruff explained that this was crucial in her treatment. "You look thin, string-bean, have you had anything to eat?"

Quinn rolls her eyes at the nickname. A name that has stuck with her family since she was a toddler. She loathed it. Yet, she buried her frustration at the use of the name and plastered a grin on her face. "I just had a smoothie, I'm fine. What about you? Have you eaten?" she questions, sitting in the chair across from her. Knowing her mother's state, she sometimes forgot to eat, causing her to become malnourished and slightly moody. She took note of the board outside of her room that they had just served her lunch.

Her mother absentmindedly waves her hand between the two. "I'm fine, I'm not feeling all too hungry," she shrugs off. A gust of wind rattles the window that they were sitting next to, a small draft wafts in forcing a chill to run up Quinn's spine. However, her mother had no reaction to it, even with her in a sweater she'd be able to feel some cold. She'd have to force her mother to put on a jacket somehow. "You know, the Countess has a son around your age,"

If she kept rolling her eyes at the rate she was they were going to get stuck in the back of her head. Why wouldn't her mother try to push someone on to her? She already had enough of a headache with trying to get to know Steve Rogers once again, she didn't need any other guy coming into the mix. She really wanted to try with Steve. He seemed sweet, and he's been patient with her recovery. He was a friend before anything else she felt. And she knew there was something there. She knew that feelings lingered from when she did know him. "Do you want to go outside?" she questions her mother trying to avoid the question at all costs. "We can get out of this stuffy room,"

"Can we go somewhere besides the hospital's courtyard?" her mother questions, as she stands with Quinn. Quinn's eyes widen at the suggestion. "Go somewhere?" she repeats as she hands her mother her jacket, holding it open for her arm to slide through. "Where do you want to go? The cafeteria?"

"How about Central Park?"

The question catches Quinn off guard as she slowly begins putting on her jacket. Central Park was definitely not the hospital. In fact, the hospital stood on the opposite side of the park. Even though it was close by it wasn't like they were just going to permit her mother to the park without supervision from at least a nurse. Monyce was on break. Her heart clenches as she thinks of how cooped up she must be in this hospital. She lived in one of the most renowned cities in the world and yet she was quarantined to a hospital.

"Aw, ma, I don't think that's a good idea. They've got it sectioned off because there's a marathon happening. I don't want you to get trampled. We can go tomorrow when I stop by," Quinn lies. That was something new that she discovered her past self did frequently. Lying never came across easy to her but the last couple of months it sounded like she had been doing it whenever she could. Lying to her mother made her feel guilty, guiltier than what she was feeling already. Her mother crosses her arms across her chest, a defiant pout stuck on her face.

If Quinn didn't know better she'd think she was dealing with a toddler perhaps even Jo. She never expected this from her mom. "If we go to the courtyard we can probably snag that swing you like," she tempts in a singsong voice, a small smirk appearing on her face. Hopefully, this could insight her mother to back down from the Central Park debacle. Even though she's glaring at her, her mother takes the lead after Quinn, instantly becoming memorized by then the temptation of a swing they can both sit on.

As they scour the hallways of the hospital they swing into their normal selves - which was not talking to each other. Even though it had been several years since her mother was diagnosed they didn't really speak to each other. Quinn was actually mad at her mother for most of her life. She fully blamed her mother for the death of her brother and her father, vice versa. Now the universe was playing a sick joke on her by making her take care of her mother while she was like this. Another gust of the autumn air swirls around them as they enter the courtyard. Luckily, no one comes to the courtyard despite her mother's knowledge. She could always trick her into coming out here, and she always preferred the swing.

Spending time with her mother hasn't been too bad. She hasn't lashed out on her in the past couple of visits - thankfully she fully recognized her. Unfortunately, her first visit after months of not seeing her mother wasn't as glorious as this. It took a full four-hour visit just to convince her that she was her daughter. They sit in silence, listening to the sound of cars in the bustling street across from the hospital, the sirens, the horns. It took her some time to get adjusted to. "How long have I been like this," her mother breaks the silence between them. Quinn hums at the question. This was one of the usual ones she asked. Still, she took the time to make it seem like it had been a while as her eyes narrow towards the sky. "About seven years,"

"Seven years?" her mother repeats, sounding lost in her own confusion. "Yeah, you've been with Woodruff for the past four years. You actually started off in Seattle and then they found you better suited here because you're, I don't want to say a rare case, but it's not normal for someone of your age to suffer from this disease,"

"Well, why can't you take care of me?"

"Well, you need to be surveyed at all times by a professional. I don't really have the time or the qual -"

"Max does,"

Hearing her brother's name come out of her mouth without hesitation made her heart skip a beat. The hair on the back of her neck stood up at how uneasy she felt during this, her palms began to sweat. This was a tricky conversation to have with her mother, it always was. Back in Seattle, she was told to break the news to her each time. Under Doctor Woodruff's treatment, she had to do it slowly if not at all. "Yeah, but you know Max," Quinn lies once again - this time it was hard on her. She waves her hand gesturing that the pretend-Max, the fake-Max, didn't have time either. Her mother's eyes narrow at her, making her shift uncomfortably. "He's always had the space brain of his,"

A nervous chuckle resonates from her. She hated this. She needed to get off the topic of Max before she brought up her father. She didn't know if she could keep her composure if he was brought up. It was hard enough to stop the tears from glimmering in her eyes. "Did Doctor Woodruff tell you that you're moving to her facility?" she asks her inquisitive mother, narrowly avoiding the conversation about her brother. Her mother shrugs at the news. She obviously didn't remember it, especially if she was bringing up Max. "It's really nice, you'll get to be out of the city," she grins. "You'll have your own little apartment -"

"Will you be there?" she questions, interrupting Quinn once again. "In the apartment with me. Will you be living with me?"

"Uh," Quinn's mind can't decide whether she should appease her mother by saying yes. But that could possibly lead her to think that she lived with her now and she most certainly didn't. All she'd do is cause Monyce another headache. "No, I will still be living in Greenwich. But I plan on seeing you every day,"

Her mother lets out a wry laugh at the mention of her apartment. She could understand why. Greenwich was definitely more expensive than the place she rented with Jo in Washington DC. Thankfully, S.H.I.E.L.D. was able to cough up some dough "I hope you have a good job then, String-Bean," her mother jokes. With S.H.I.E.L.D. compromised she wasn't able to work for obvious reasons. But that didn't stop her from finding a new job in short notice. It was a definite downgrade from S.H.I.E.L.D. Quinn nervously begins chuckling. "Yeah, I guess I do,"

_**~BOOK TWO: AGE OF ULTRON~**_

**T****HE AIR UP top of the subway** smelled a lot cleaner than the sewage smelling station. Quinn has made it a golden rule to not smell any of the air between getting off the subway and making it up top. Even if she had to push people out of the way before she ran out of air. She felt strongly about it. A pang of guilt courses through her body as she thinks about her mother. She really didn't get out that much, she couldn't go anywhere when Quinn wasn't in New York. It wasn't right to live life in a cramped hospital, nor was it right to evade her mother even on the bad days. As she stops at a crosswalk her pocket vibrates while also humming out a small eight toned chiming ring - almost sounding like a doorbell of sorts. She reaches her hand into her pocket to see the horrendous photo that Jo had taken of herself pop up with her name across the screen. Her blood ran thick with anxiety. She knew why she was calling. It seemed like with distance Jo's exuberant and obnoxious personality seemed to amplify. She groans to herself out of frustration, stomping her foot on the ground as if she were a child before pressing the green button. "Hey," she greets.

_"Hey, what's up? What's new?"_ Jo questions in a perky tone over the speaker.

"Nothing, just coming back from seeing my mom," she tried not to sound out of breath after quickly crossing the street without the cross signal, craning her neck to check if any cops were watching. Thankfully no one was.

_"Oh that's cool, that's cool,"_ Jo replies in a nonchalant voice. This piqued Quinn's interest. Something was up. She was never this calm on the phone. _"So why'd you decline the Halloween party?"_ There it is. Quinn rolls her eyes at the question as she turns to the stoop of her building. "You know, expenses, and the fact that we're almost thirty,"

_"Yeah, you're almost thirty, so what?"_

"So I don't want to dress like a slit for Halloween. I'm not desperate anymore,"

_"Is this because of Steve? Is he being a fun-sucker again?"_

Quinn almost drops her keys at the mere mention of his name. Her heart feels like it skips a beat in her chest as she thinks about him. "N-no," she stutters, her face becoming red like a tomato. Jo seems to chuckle over the receiver at her voice. Quinn clears her throat as she enters the apartment building. "No," her voice is steady now. "And he's not a fun-sucker. He's just old fashioned,"

_"Old fashioned like my old high school history teacher, he's lame,"_

"I thought you liked Steve,"

_"I do, he's mildly attractive, he gets you out of your shell,"_

"And?"

_"And that's about it,"_ Jo let's out a frustrated sigh from the other end of the line just as Quinn opens the door. She's greeted by none other than Rudolph who has been patiently waiting for her arrival all day, more specifically once he heard the front door open to the building. Quinn coos at the dog while petting his back, surely getting his golden fur all over her jacket. That was the curse she brought upon herself by taking him. He shed _everywhere_. _"I just think it's weird,"_ Jo continues her train of thought. _"You guys have been around each other for a month now and you're still just friends. Meanwhile, the Quinn I knew in DC had this major crush on him to begin with -"_

"Okay, I'm going to stop you right there and point out all the things that are wrong with what you just said," at the point, Quinn had become irritated with her badgering about her and Steve getting together. Did she have a crush on him? Yes. Did she need help from her best friend who's all the way across the country? No. "Number one," she crosses the living room to the small kitchen, taking a look inside of the fridge. "We're just friends at this point," she takes out some leftover Greek food she had gotten yesterday. Her brows raise at the thought that she hadn't eaten since yesterday. "Number two, this "_old Quinn;_ _new Quinn_" needs to stop -"

_"Sorry -"_

"I'm not done," Quinn interjects. "Number three, Steve and I were friends for months before anything even happened between us. And number five, I don't think we're ready to admit anything right now,"

_"Really?" _

There's a slight whine coming by Quinn's feet as she shoves a pile of food in her mouth. She peers down to see Rudolph sitting at her feet, leash in his mouth. Whoops. "Yeah," she continues as she swoops down and clips the leash on to Rudolph's collar. She's had the dog to herself for a month and she's already forgotten to take him outside. "Well, it's not like I can forgive myself for getting brainwashed and hurting him,"

_"That wasn't your fault -"_

"I know," she addresses as she places her coat back on, golden fur now all over it due to the proximity of how close Rudolph was. "And he can't get over how he let it happen, like how he made me a target. It's completely understandable,"

There's a long pause in the conversation, Quinn takes this opportunity to hurry out the door of the apartment building and stand in the freezing cold with Rudolph. She tries her best not to make eye contact with people as she holds onto Rudolph as he finds the right tree on the sidewalk to do his duty.

_"__It still doesn't explain why you declined the party,"_ Jo states, causing Quinn to roll her eyes in frustration. This wasn't going to be a battle, she knew it. Jo would just keep pestering her until she said yes, she wouldn't stop until the day after the party. If she didn't go she wouldn't talk to her for a good time. She recalls Jo not speaking to her for a good few days while they were cooped up in a dorm together in college. Now that they lived at separate ends of the east coast that could extend for months maybe even years.

"I'll see what I can do," Quinn's voice is littered with defeat and annoyance as Jo yips in joy on the other end. She's glad that at least one of them was enthused about her presence at a Halloween party. _"I was thinking we could do a group costume but I'll let you know the details later once the theme is decided,"_

"Great," she rolls her eyes as Rudolph bounds towards the stoop of the building after his business was done. She couldn't wait to be almost thirty and wearing a skimpy outfit knowing Jo would post it online. She couldn't wait for her future employers to see that. _"So how's New York treating you? Still expensive?"_

It felt as if a bolt of lightning had hit her as she gasped at the mere mention of the expenses. Jo had reminded her that she needed to check her email. She had finally gotten a response online about the second room in her apartment. She hurries towards the living room after shrugging off her jacket for the fourth or fifth time today. She shoves her notes for EDGE off the silver-topped laptop, while placing her blue-light reflecting glasses on.

"Why would it go down in price? I just talked to you three days ago about this,"

_"Alright, crabby,"_

"I'm sorry, I'm just a little stressed," Quinn sighs. "This place is five times more expensive than DC. It's a little hard to do on my own and pay for my mother's stay at the hospital while prepping her to leave for the facility. Even with the compensation S.H.I.E.L.D. forked over, that's running out,"

_"Are you going to get a second job?"_

"I hope I don't have to. I put an ad up on Craigslist -"

_"Tell me you didn't,"_

"I did, and I've met with several strangers - including a hyper conspiracy theorist and all have been...weird,"

_"I thought weird was your thing,"_

"Weird is far from my thing," she clarifies in an offended tone. Actually, weird was up her Ally, one of her close friends was Captain America. Maybe weird was her thing. She shakes her head to clear her thoughts and focus. "Anyways, I got another response to the ad. I have to meet her tomorrow at the coffee place down the street at -" her eyes narrow at the email. "Thirteen hundred,"

_"Her?"_ Jo's voice sounds offended by the pronoun, causing Quinn to perk a brow at the sudden icy tone. _"Are you trying to replace me, Cruise?"_

"What?" she nervously chuckles over the line. In a sense, she was trying to replace her. She needed someone to help her out with the rent, the water bill, and the heat. She couldn't keep having Steve offer to help her out over and over again. It was getting old and she wanted to show him that she could manage without help from him, he didn't need to coddle her. "Jo, no one could replace you. You're my best friend,"

_"Aw, that's so sweet. Thank you,"_ Jo hums over the line.

"I'm just replacing you as a roommate," Quinn can practically feel the smirk in her own tone.

_"Oh, you know, you ruined the moment,"_

Quinn began shuffling through the yellow notepad paper she had shoved off her laptop. Even though she had a lot on her plate this was the most important thing at the moment. She needed to catch up on it after not being able to work on it yesterday. "Hey, can I call you back?" she needs to think of an excuse to get off the phone abruptly or else she'd start to question why she needed to leave or she'd insinuate that Steve was there doing things and making her flustered. Her mind draws a blank but her motor skills still remain fluid. What comes out isn't expected. "Rudolph just puked everywhere," Even she cringes at the excuse. She had said it so nonchalant

"Oh, my precious baby!" Jo screeches over the phone.

"I gotta go!" Quinn screeches back, quickly ending the call before they could say their farewells. As she hangs up the couch cushion moves from the weight of Rudolph's presence right next to her, panting in her face. Her face scrunches up at the smell of the dog's rotten breath - she needed to brush his teeth or at least give him a treat that made his breath smell decent. "Sorry I had to use you for the blow," she apologizes, scratching Rudolph behind the ears. This causes the large dog to relax and lay down across her lap, keeping her warm. She hums at how adorable he was being, and he was soothing her as well.

She lets out a sigh of relief before leaning her head back on the cushion of the couch. Her body felt as if it had just released a huge amount of stress just by hanging up with Jo. Since when did she become so needy? Granted, she did miss the time that they shared together. Their interactions weren't as scheduled as a phone call. They came and they went. Now it just felt almost like a burden to gather things up to talk about. A vibration alerts her to look at her phone. A group text from Jo including a handful of numbers she didn't know, asking for suggestions for their group costume. Group costume? Theme? Since when was she into correlating with a few other people with wardrobes? Who are these people?

Quinn's mind couldn't shake the feeling of Jo actually moving on with her life as she lived in an expensive apartment by herself just waiting for Steve to ask her on a date. Jo was changing while she stayed the same. It irked her. She tosses her phone across the couch, trying to ignore the sudden influx of text messages she was receiving from Jo's new friends. If anyone was being replaced it was her.

Another sigh leaves her body as she tries to focus on the notes in front of her. _"__An app for the future",_ was in bold across the top of one page of paper. Granted, she didn't have a genius mind like Tony Stark nor did she have the funding of Stark Industries she still tried to work on the app in her free time. Hopefully, if it was successful she could manipulate a Fitbit into some sort of tracking device that she could place on her mother, disguise it as a gift. It would help keep track of her mother's moods based on the influx of her heart-rate, activities by the GPS, and sleep and diet regimen.

She proposed this idea to Doctor Woodruff after seeing her mother in pain for a couple of weeks. Even though Doctor Woodruff wasn't a total fan of her, she gave her the okay to at least test it out on her own mother. It's not like she could say no. She begins sifting through the pages of notes before opening up the document that held the programming to it. As she looked at the clock she noticed that it had passed well into the night. She simply shrugged it off. EDGE wasn't going to program itself.

* * *

A/N: Welcome back! I hope everyone had a good holiday season. It went by too fast in my opinion because I thought I would get at least 15-20 chapters done of this that way I could always be ahead but in actuality I only got 10 done and now I have to try to pump chapters out as fast as I can so I can stay on my consistent schedule of uploading every Friday morning.

Anyways, I'm curious to know on who you guys imagine Quinn and Jo would look like if they actually were in the MCU. I know everyone views characters differently and I'm interested in knowing if you have a certain person in mind.

Until next Friday!

\- Moonie


	34. CHAPTER XXXIV

**CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR**

**( **PLEASE BE MY ROOMMATE** )**

**"ONE CARAMEL MACCHIATO," the barista shouts** out into the sea of faces, crowded around the end of the concession. A small hand shoots up, pushing its way through the crowd of businessmen and women trying to get their fix. Quinn looked out of place being up there, however, once she turned around with her macchiato she realized that it was the business people who were actually out of place in the casual coffee shop.

She adored it not only for its convenience of being right down the road from her but because it actually held live music. It was something that she had never seen in person before but had always seen on TV shows or movies. Unfortunately, with it being in the middle of the day, there was no live music. It wasn't a setback as the coffee and atmosphere were to die for, that's why all the businesspeople from the financial district were here.

Quinn perched herself in a combination booth and table in the corner of the shop, where her laptop and notes had been reserving her a spot. Cars from the outside rolled by at a quick pace causing leaves to fall from their path. It looked like it could've been out of a painting. She loved this city, she didn't know why she just didn't come here in the first place. If only Steve would be here, she'd be in heaven.

She begins tapping in the keyboard of her laptop, entering in a feasible code for EDGE. She was almost ready to complete it. She just needed to add a few additional touches to the code and then it would be perfect. Hopefully, it could fit onto the small motherboard of a Fitbit. She looks at her phone to view the messages that she had sent to the woman, informing her of her whereabouts in the coffee shop. She had read them but hadn't responded to them.

This only made the out of anxiety growing in her stomach grow larger. What if she didn't show? She actually dreaded meeting her. All the other interviews have been flops. If only there was a clone of Jo that could live with her. Even though she shouldn't feel nervous, she definitely was. Meeting with these people always put her on edge. She never knew who could be a potential threat.

There was Frank that she gained through the interviews. He was like a parasite. He's the perfect description of someone who would answer an ad like hers. Thin, short, mouse-faced with dull brown curly hair and eyes that bulged out. If he had been normal, she would've accepted him as her roommate but the imminent thought of living with hyper conspiracy theorist made her cringe. Unfortunately, because of his nature and what he chooses to do in his spare time, he figured out that she used to work for S.H.I.E.L.D. and happened to be associated with Captain America.

Ever since he's been up her ass about his little theories for S.H.I.E.L.D. trying to pump information out of her that she couldn't give him. Over the last couple of weeks, she's had "run-in's" with the strange man, which always lead to him asking her the strangest questions that she couldn't answer, _"is there another S.H.I.E.L.D.?"_, _"is Hydra really gone?"_, _"did S.H.I.E.L.D. train sleeper agents? Are you a sleeper agent?"_.

Not only did she not know most of the questions, she genuinely would get offended. She felt paranoid and unsafe with this growth of information he was obtaining about her. It could only a matter of time before he found out about her mother. If he ever did, there's no telling what he could use to sway her into getting information to him. However, she highly doubted that he could even attempt to blackmail or threaten her let alone anyone for that matter. Even though he was crazy, and invading, he was kind to her. The kindest anyone has been to her since she moved. She brushed off his kindness as an attempt to possibly make a pass at her, a small, socially awkward guy can only get so far with talking to women. He actually reminded her a lot of she had read about Steve before the serum.

"Excuse me?" a voice calls out, beckoning for her attention. She rips her eyes away from her laptop screen to see a short woman with dark hair and big eyes framed with a set of bigger glasses looking down at her, a nervous smile on her face. Quinn greets the woman with a welcoming smile, hoping not to fend her off. "Are you Quinn?" the woman asks. Quinn takes in the sight of her once again before she answers. The woman is fumbling with the green coaster around her cup while fidgeting under her gaze. She's anxious as well. For some reason this makes Quinn relax a little.

"I am, and you must be Robin," she greets, a broad smile plastered on her face as she shuts her laptop off and places it beside her. She extends her hand to shake Robin's hand, noting that it was a firm grip - not a death grip that the rest of the interviewers have shown her. She couldn't decide if that was supposed to be a power move. "Please," Quinn invites Robin, as she gestures to the chair across from her.

Robin smiles sheepishly as she quickly places her coffee down on the table. Quinn couldn't help but watch Robin, she every movement she made was cautious like she was nervous and taking her time with everything. Robin's hand swoops through her bangs, trying to get them away from her glasses. "I'm glad you chose this place, I really like it," Robin comments, showing another shy smile which Quinn returns.

She couldn't help but feel for the woman, she must've felt awkward about interviewing for a roommate but, she needed to be cautious and not pick the first person who answered the ad. If she did that she could've wound up with the alcoholic she interviewed. "So," Quinn begins, picking up a notebook of questions she had listed out. "What brings you to me? Why are you looking for a new place?"

"Oh," Robin states, her posture becoming a little slouched. "I just got out of a relationship. It was not amicable at all," her tone was low as if the breakup was painful. Quinn takes this time to watch her body language. Blair had once informed her that a person's body language was a way to get them to tell you the truth. Unfortunately, the hurtful breakup was true. But for what reason?

"Do you mind me asking why you broke up?"

"Not at all," Robin perks up, waving her hand in a nonchalant gesture. "We broke up because she thought I was always cheating on her when I was actually here, playing at night, turns out she was only accusing me of cheating because she actually was," she throws a thumb up at the stage where usually the live performers would play their music or perform their poetry and rhythmic stories. This intrigued Quinn. She had never been one to be artsy. "So you work here as a...?"

"Oh I don't work here," Robin quickly corrects herself. "No, I actually am a cellist for the symphony downtown. I just come here and play sometimes for free,"

Artsy and charitable. She'd get along well with Steve if he came over.

"Gotcha," she hums out as she writes this down. "So do you have any pets?"

"No," Robin simply answers.

"Do you have any problem with dogs?"

"I actually love dogs, the bigger the better I always say," Robin excitedly chides. Quinn marks this down as a plus. She needed someone to help her out with Rudolph.

"How would you say your lifestyle was like at home?" Robin perks a brow up at this. "Like are you uptight and neat or are you just loose and chill?" she clarifies, making Robin's lips form an "oh".

"I'm usually chill except when it comes to reasonable things. Like going through my stuff or partying on a night that I have to work the next day, I might get mad at but -" she lists off before Quinn interjects. She needed to stay focused or else she wouldn't make it home on time to change for her shift. Although she liked talking to Robin already she notes that she can be a bit long-winded.

"I get it, who wouldn't? How long have you lived in New York?" she continues.

"About eight years."

"Have you ever done anything illegal?"

"I shoplifted once when I was a teenager and I felt so guilty I took the clothes back and turned myself in," Even the look on her face conveyed the guilt that she still felt. It was enough to make Quinn's heart clench. At least she knew that she'd never steal anything. She glances at the time before raising her brows. She could actually get to work on time if she wrapped it up early. "That's so sweet. I have one last question, before the end here. What are your views on the Avengers?"

"_Pfft_, the Avengers?" Robin teasingly laughs, causing Quinn's brows to furrow. Was this the deal-breaker? If she couldn't handle the Avengers then she wasn't good enough to be around. Especially since Steve would most likely be over a lot. "The city would be lost without them," Robin continues, making Quinn's mind do a complete one-eighty.

"When the attack happened back in twenty-twelve, I was thankfully out of the city visiting my parents, but my brother also lives here. He's a cop. He was being held hostage at Penn Station by aliens when Captain America came to the rescue. Without the Avengers and without Captain America, I would've lost my brother and we could've lost that war."

Quinn couldn't help but stare at the woman with a bug-eyed look. Not only did she have a connection to the Avengers, but she also had a connection with Steve. She can't help but picture Robin's surprised face when Steve comes knocking on the door. She could possibly reunite Steve with her brother and her brother could thank him. Quinn's mind swirled with all the possibilities that could happen with this information.

"Wow." Was the only word she could think of. She needed a sip of her macchiato in order to snap out of her daydream.

"Did I say too much? I've been told I talk a lot when I'm nervous...and when I'm not nervous," Robin questions, wincing as if she had said the wrong answer and was waiting for a verbal retaliation. Quinn shakes her head profusely as she places her notebook down on the table. "No, no, Robin, this is good. You've blown my mind," Quinn affirms, trying to make Robin feel comfortable with her answer. "This is actually the first normal interview I've done,"

"Well that's good, I'm glad!" Robin beams. Quinn taps the notebook with her pen anxiously for a moment as she mulls over all the information. She couldn't say no to Robin. She needed to make an offer. "I-I actually want you to be my roommate,"

Robin chuckles as she begins to feel flattered by Quinn's quick liking to her. It was something she needed after the breakup. "Thank you, I'd love to take you up on the offer," Robin bites down on her lip, narrowing her eyes. "But I don't know anything about you,"

"Oh," Quinn chides, suddenly starting to feel nervous for some reason. "Ask away,"

"When did you move to New York?" Robin questions, starting off easy.

"About a month ago," Quinn answers honestly.

"Do you have a job?"

"I do have a job, it's not the best but it's something," Once again this is the truth.

"What do you do?"

"I used to be an I.T. but I guess you can call me a tech specialist now,"

"Care to elaborate?"

Quinn hesitates, gnawing at her bottom lip. She feels embarrassed as she grumbles out, "Apple,"

Robin leans forward, narrowing her large blue eyes at Quinn. "The store?"

"I told you it wasn't the greatest,"

"How can you even afford a place on Hudson? It's like eight thousand at least,"

"Well, I can't, that's why I'm looking for a roommate,"

"Makes sense," she shrugs.

Quinn looks at her phone, her eyes widen when she looks at the time. She's cutting it really close to being able to change for her job. Her eyes dart back up towards Robin, showing her a gleaming smile to try to be polite. "Actually, Robin, I'm going to have to get going pretty soon. My shift starts soon. Did you want to continue this on a later date or -"

"No, I like you," Robin interrupts, catching her off guard and leaving her mouth open. "You're genuine. I'll take your offer,"

"Really? That's great!" Quinn yips excitedly, her grin stretching into a genuine smile. "So when could you move in? Do you need help? I'm willing to offer my services,"

"Thursdays and Fridays work best for me, I have those days off. Or I can do Saturday mornings," Robin informs her, the symphony had a demanding schedule.

"Let's try for Friday, just text me the address that you live at and I'll be there with help," Quinn quickly packs up her laptop and her notes into her bag. Trying her best to still remain polite with Robin. Even though she was becoming her roommate she still was a stranger. Quinn apologizes for cutting the meeting brief but wishes her luck as she bids her goodbye.

"Oh! Hey, Quinn?" Robin calls out to her, just as she was about to enter a sea of suits and blazers exiting the coffee shop. "What's your take on the Avengers?" she shouts over the commotion of the coffee shop. Quinn narrows her eyes at her soon-to-be roommate. She couldn't hear a thing besides the crowd in the coffee shop.

"What's your opinion on the Avengers - Captain America or whatever," Robin raises her voice as she crosses the coffee shop. It was time for her to get going as well. The question brings a smile to Quinn's face. She was glad that the Avengers were a big part of her life already and she didn't even know them. "Oh, I love the Avengers and I lo- I like Captain America,"

* * *

A/N: Quinn went from working for a government agency to working for a large company anyone can work at because she waited for the last minute to get a job. If that's not relatable I don't know what is.

Also, sorry for the Steve-less chapters. Hopefully I'll make it up to you when he is introduced in the second part of the series.

I've also started a new fic called Full Stop about Tony Stark that ties in to this fic. Actually I have a big plan for a lot of the MCU characters and they'll all be featured in their own fic with other characters of mine that tie in together like the MCU. I only have Full Stop somewhat started but I do have plans for a couple of fics for characters who were already introduced in this series. So be ready for them!


	35. CHAPTER XXXV

**CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE**

**( **NINE TO FIVE **)**

**"YOU'RE LATE," THE monotone voice of** her co-worker, Jessabelle notes as Quinn strolls through the back door of the store. She rolls her eyes as she watches a small smirk appear on Jessabelle's face. She had always been the one to look at the bad things and think positively of them. By positively she enjoyed seeing things go horribly wrong.

For some reason, Quinn had been instantly drawn to her morbid personality since she started. Perhaps it's because she hated this job as much as she did, she just showed it a lot more. Plus she had seniority and knew the ins and outs of this store like the back of her hand - along with the rest of Manhattan. If anything, Jessabelle had become somewhat of Quinn's first friend in New York that she actually made in the city. "If I said I helped someone out of a burning building, would you believe me?" Quinn questions, returning the smirk.

"Only if you gave gruesome details,"

Quinn let's out a low chuckle at her unusual nature. "You think I'd let people die?" Quinn questions as Jessabelle eagerly snatches the plastic cup of coffee from her hand, reading the label of the now cold macchiato. "You went to _Foam Party_ without me, and didn't bring me anything? I'm the one who showed you that place. I feel a betrayal coming," Jessabelle notes in a dramatic fashion. "Oh, yeah, I'm sorry. I was going through another interview today," Jessabelle's eyes light up at the statement.

"How'd that go? Get another weirdo?" Of course she was only interested in hearing how people get under Quinn's skin or just finding it fascinating about the weird people of New York and what they do in their free time. She especially got a hoot out of the man who said he released a twenty foot python in the sewers. Even the thought of a snake that size made her shiver, even though she crossed him off as completely delusional.

"No. Thankfully I met with someone normal who has agreed to be my roommate," Quinn informs her with a know-it-all tone, a smug grin resting on her face. The statement alone is enough to make Jessabelle's brows raise. "Whoa so soon? Don't you have to run that by your landlord or something?"

"The less my landlord knows, the better. I'm just lucky she doesn't live in the same building as me," Quinn states, earning a chuckle from her co-worker.

She takes the last sip of her macchiato as her eyes survey the crowded store. Being in retail hasn't been something she was totally used to yet, nor was working with tech in retail. She could go on and on about a product and not sell anyone on it. She didn't understand how, everything seemed to be advanced enough, but not as advanced as Tony Stark's gadgets. She's had a few people come in and ask why they don't have the products Tony Stark adorns on a night on the town. It wasn't like she could help it, she wasn't in charge.

Tony Stark was good enough to save the world and threaten terrorists, but he was selfish enough to keep his technology a secret. Even when it came to the design of his phone. Although she'd like to get her hands on it and dissect it. Even with Steve being close to Tony he hadn't possessed any electronics that he had developed. Perhaps Tony didn't seem Steve tech savvy enough yet.

She shakes her head trying to clear any thoughts about Steve. This wasn't the time to start daydreaming about the perks of potentially dating him, if she could ever come around to it. She couldn't risk herself being attacked like she had before. Her eyes shift over to the table which had been reserved for her class, watching a few of the "students" come in and take a seat at the edge.

She had to get through six classes today. If she could survive this with the pleasant buzz her macchiato gave her from earlier, she could get home and work on EDGE. She groans as she looks at the clock behind her on the wall. She was going to have to start class soon. "What a lively group you've caught," Jessabelle sneers from beside her as she takes a gander at the people perched at the table. Quinn rolls her eyes as she let's out a small yawn. "I'll try to score you some numbers," Quinn teases as she steps away from the counter and out into the sea of new costumers.

"Remember, only old guys with money!" Jessabelle shouts after her, making her crack a smile and give her a thumbs up. A small group has started to form around half of the light wooden table that was roped off for the sake of her class which proudly adorned the name "Tech Help". A class with a slightly older demographic would come and seek help.

She admired most of the people being big enough to swallow their pride and admit that they needed help learning the vastly developing industry that was technology as it was slowly but surely starting to take precedence over the world. She cracks her knuckles as she perches herself at the head of a light wooden table, all heads snapping towards her to turn their attention to the instructor. She plasters a wide smile on her face as she greets her class, setting up her own laptop on to the large television screen beside the table so they could all see her desktop.

The class is a how-to basics of the MacBook that each individual possessed, and usually was about a forty-five minutes long tutorial that she had to go over multiple times throughout the day. Sometimes it took longer if a person wasn't grasping at the basics, but she'd try to help them understand the best she could, that's why she was there.

The hours seem to drone by, as she continues to explain the basic technology to people who were in desperate need of help. The once sunny sky that provided most of the light in the mainly glass building was substituted by the evening sky, growing more and more dark. She always liked it at night, as the lights from the skyscrapers lit up beautifully.

"Score anything for me?" Jessabelle questions as she approaches Quinn on her soon-to-be finished break. Jessabelle always requested Quinn to get her some numbers of any older gentleman, as she thinks that he would take care of her financially. She was always saying that if she could find herself someone rich enough she'd quit her job. Quinn deemed it as not the best outlook on life but, it's not like she could have any input on her life. She shrugs her shoulders as she places a chip into her mouth.

"I'm not lucky today," she states with a snarky grin. Usually, she could possibly score unwanted numbers by older gentlemen. "How's Enzo?" she questions her co-worker, trying to change the subject. Jessabelle's arms cross her chest as she stands in the middle of the doorway. "I don't know, he hasn't been home in a couple of days," she sighs out. This was clearly causing her a headache. Quinn perks a questionable brow as she bites into the last chip in the bag. "You don't know where he is?"

"If I did I would've told you when you asked how he was," Jessabelle seethes, a scowl overcoming her face. She had struck a nerve. It must've been a sensitive issue for her today. Quinn shrugs her shoulders in a form of an apology. If she didn't want to know where her estranged boyfriend was that was her own deal. If she was as close to her as she was Jo she'd be up her ass trying to find him but it's clear that they'll never be that close since Jessabelle just wants to push Quinn away.

They sit in silence for a moment, trying to let the awkwardness settle between the two. Jessabelle's fingers lightly tap the door-frame as she tries to gain confidence to be the bigger person and end this little tiff. "Anyways, I just came in here to tell you that people from your fifth class have started to show up and you've caught yourself a hot one,"

Quinn scoffs at her judgement. It obviously wasn't the best. "How old is he?"

"Surprisingly not that old. But he's hot and that's all I really cared about. Slide him my number?" Jessabelle gushes, twirling her enclosed hands up by her face in a pleading way. Quinn rolls her eyes. She had a boyfriend but wanted to get out of the relationship that bad. She could understand wanting to get out of the relationship with Enzo disappearing from time to time and being secretive about it, but it didn't sit well that she was already hunting for new partners while being with someone. However, if she gave her, her opinion on breaking up with him beforehand she'd just smash it down. "I guess," is all Quinn can respond with as she exits the break room.

The hum of voices escalate in volume as she exits the employees only area to the front of the store which was now beautifully illuminated by the twinkling lights of the skyscrapers surrounding the building. Her gaze immediately turns towards the small area roped off for her fifth class. Most of the seats had been taken, she didn't realize that it was going to be that full. She freezes mid-step over towards her class when she notices a familiar face sitting at her table.

The hat and the glasses may throw everyone through a loop but she could recognize Steve Rogers from anywhere. He must've been the younger man that Jessabelle was talking about. A laugh hitches in her throat as she thinks about Steve and Jessabelle together. Polar opposites.

She watches as he takes out his own laptop from a case and places it on the table in front of him. He catches her gaze and returns it with a sheepish smile. If she didn't know any better she'd say that he had a light blush on his face. She tries to hide a smirk that was growing on her lips but ultimately fails, causing him to smile wider. A pit of nerves cluster in her stomach as she perches herself at the head of the table. This was a new sensation for her. She had never been nervous to instruct one of these classes.

"Uh," Quinn begins, her voice drawing the attention of her class, including a pair of blue eyes that had never left her. She can feel the heat rising to her cheeks as she nervously fumbles with her laptop. "Good evening everyone, my name is Quinn. I'll be instructing you on how to use your MacBook," she gives them a firm smile which Steve returns making her stomach knot.

During the lecture Quinn stumbles over certain words, stammers whenever a question is asked. Each time she messed up she sent an apologizing glance towards Steve who would merely smile up at her, giving her a boast of confidence before she would ultimately lose it again. She had never felt more distracted in her life. Usually she liked his presence, it gave her a sense of comfort and stability but today it had her on edge.

If Jo hadn't gotten in her head about how they were supposed to be together and if he wasn't so kind and adapting to her anti-social nature after the brainwashing maybe she wouldn't have developed this crush on him. There are several points during her lecture where she can't even stomach to look at him as she thinks about what had happened during the time she was brainwashed. She went against everything her father had engraved in her moral code. He would've been disappointed to say the least.

The burning question of why Steve even wanted to be around her after all that had happened was still at large, even though Jo has convinced her he has feelings for her as well. As she dismisses the forty-five minute session, she huffs out a sigh and placing her hands on her hips, watching everyone pack up their laptops and (unbelievably) notepads.

She couldn't wrap her mind around why people would notepads if they had computers, however, that's the pot calling the kettle black as she shortly realizes that she's been using her notebook to write down notes about EDGE. Little tweaks and quirks, nothing too big. Once again she locks eyes with the famous Steve Rogers, who had gone by the alias of Roger during the session. It caused her to snort. Some disguise.

"You know I can't teach class if you can't stop giving me googly eyes," she smiles at him as he approaches her, a slight smirk on his face. His brows raise at the term that she had used. "Googly eyes? I was just interested in learning," he teases, trying to give himself a little bit if cover as he taps the laptop case slung around his shoulders. "What are you doing here?" she questions even though she knew he was there to merely see her, unknowing that he made her feel nervous.

"I was interested in learning," he replies, repeating himself from before. This makes Quinn mentally slap herself. Of course he was there for her but his intentions were purely meant for him to learn about how to use a laptop. She cringes at the thought, she didn't mean to neglect him on how to use a laptop, he never asked and she never offered. "Well, we could've done that in private, you know what I mean," she insists, her cheeks heating up as she thinks of the innuendo.

"What time are you off?" he asks, catching her off guard. She crosses her arms as she slowly begins to sway from side to side, a nervous habit that she's picked up on. "I have another class," she sighs in exasperation. "I get off around nineteen hundred,"

"Have you eaten anything?"

"A macchiato and some chips," she answers honestly. It was all she could think to eat at the time. It wasn't like she was all that hungry or could even eat while at work.

"Quinn," he tuts while shaking his head. Her small smile turns into a a slight frown as she watches him. She wasn't in the mood for a lecture, especially at work. "What are you thinking?" she questions, already knowing what was about to play out. "Falafel King," is all he responds with.

"Not that healthy," she replies, a smug grin on her face. She knew she could corrupt him when it came to street food. No one could get over the taste of Falafel King.

"When did that stop you?" he smirks.

"When you kept saying that I can't live on a diet of just street food,"

"You can't," he retorts, his tone getting a little serious which causes her to drop her snarky attitude. "I'll meet you back here after your shift,"

"Can you do me a favor?" she asks, earning a perked brow from Steve. "Can you take out Rudolph? I haven't been home since noon-ish,"

"Is the key still above the door?" he questions earning a nod from Quinn. Not the best tactic to hide a key but it was something. With that he turns to leave without saying goodbye to her. Any more social interaction could cause her to get in trouble with her manager. She can't hide the fact that she's a little hurt when she watches him leave. She wanted to stay with him, stop working and just be around him. She huffs out a sigh as she walks behind the counter towards a smirking Jessabelle.

"Slide him my number or take him for yourself?" she accuses, making Quinn brows raise as she checks her phone for the time. Just another two hours. "No to both, he just had a question regarding the gigs on the MacBook," she lamely lies. Jessabelle's unamused face draws her attention once again. "There were whispers saying that that was Steve Rogers,"

"Captain America? I don't think he has time to visit an Apple store. He's probably off saving the world," she answers, her nerves standing at end at the mention of Steve. She didn't realize that he'd be recognizable under that hat and frumpy glasses. She starts to sweat on the spot, hoping Jessabelle wouldn't notice. "Maybe," she purrs, loving the way Quinn seemed to squirm. "You two did a lot of talking, did he mention it to you?"

Quinn shakes her head vehemently. "Didn't get a name, but I would definitely tell you if that was Steve Rogers and it wasn't. He was a total nerd," she lies, desperately hoping to throw Jessabelle off her trail. She wouldn't make a mistake by telling her she knew Steve personally, she couldn't risk her being a target, she was honestly an innocent bystander. Jessabelle thankfully seems bored with the conversation and leaves to help someone out, using her way too cheerful customer service voice that Quinn knew all too well was fake. She takes this time away from Jessabelle to compose herself. She had just barely dodged a bullet.

_**~BOOK TWO; AGE OF ULTRON~**_

**THE DISTINCT SOUND of a familiar** bark alerts Quinn that her friend awaits her to walk her home. She huddles for warmth in her jacket as a gust of wind blows through her. She hated working at night because if how cold it got. No matter how many millions of people were in the city it still remained freezing. Her eyes catch a familiar figure, sitting down on a ledge accompanied by Rudolph. Her eyes widen at the sight of the four legged animal. Did they walk here all the way from Greenwich? That was far too far for Rudolph to walk to and from, it was hard for her to do it, which is why she always took the subway.

Quinn begins to stomp her way towards an undisguised Steve, who was promptly hanging on to a small cartridge of falafel in one hand. He smiles once he catches sight of her, waving the cartridge to her. Her mind becomes flustered at the sight, forgetting why she was even heated to begin with. Even if he had walked this far it wasn't like she wasn't happy to see the two, she would even go to lengths to say she was thrilled to see Rudolph here after her long day.

The golden retriever jumps up onto his owner, whining in greeting as she leans down to pat his head, only to be greeted by a sloppy kiss from him. If there was anything consistent in her life besides the chaos it was Rudolph, and no matter what hell she had been put through he still loved her. Hopefully, her time of chaos was going to be over, as soon as she sent her mother to Woodruff's facility, she could finally have some peace of mind.

Maybe even have the gull to ask Steve on a date. The thought alone was enough to make her heart skip a beat. "H-hey," she stammers out as she greets him, lifting up from her crouches position. He smiles at her as he hands her the cartridge in his hand, the savory smell of the Mediterranean food was tempting to her but she wouldn't act like a complete slob around Steve. She couldn't. "Did you walk all the way here?" she asks, while popping in a small ball of the delicious food. Steve shrugs. "Figured he could use a walk,"

"He'll be tired on the way back," Quinn notes as she begins to walk away from her place of work. "Well it's a good thing I can carry him," he chuckles in response, falling in step with her. This is true, she's never seen anyone pick up Rudolph so easily without the dog struggling. Perhaps he felt comforted by Steve's presence as well. "Did you learn anything today at the lecture?"

"Yeah, I did not know about the sky. It'll be super helpful on missions,"

Quinn stops dead in her tracks as she tries to decipher what he means, her lips pursing at the word _'sky'_. "What do you mean by sky?"

"The thing, where all your information on your phone or laptop goes after you save them to it,"

"Please tell me you're not trying to say _the cloud_," Quinn smirks as she sees a faint tinge of pink come to his cheeks out of embarrassment. "I am almost positive that Stark will have something better than the cloud for your missions. Something elite and extremely secure. Something that can't be hacked by the general public,"

"Like you wouldn't want to know what I do on missions," Steve teases, earning a scoff from Quinn. "Frankly I don't care. The less I know the better,"

Steve's brow perks up at the very un-Quinn like statement. "This is a new side. You were always prying for me to tell you what was happening on the missions,"

She huffs out a frustrated sigh, "Yeah and then I got my brain scrambled for being too inquisitive. It's best I put my interests elsewhere,"

"Like EDGE?" Steve questions, his hand gripping on to the leash tighter as he mentions the device. For some reason Quinn playing around with technology made him feel uneasy. Not that she wasn't qualified to but after she had explained what the device would do he could easily see several flaws in the description. Hopefully, it didn't work and she wasn't some mad scientist.

Quinn just hums at the sound of the name for the device as she continues to chow down on her food. Explaining EDGE to him once again would just cause him to get even more confused about what it was than he already was. He wasn't one hundred percent adjusted to this time, she didn't want to complicate things for him further. Her eyes absentmindedly drift down to his exposed and relaxed hand, watching it away back and forth with each stride. If only she had the courage to intertwine her fingers with his. She cursed Hydra for taking away her memory, perhaps if she still had her memories with him they could be something. Now she has to start from square one again while he repeats the whole process with her. She just hoped he could remain patient for her.

"Quinn?" Steve's questioning voice brings her out of her train of thought, surprising her. She glances at him with wide eyes, wondering what's happening as she sees that he's holding Rudolph's leash towards her, a couple of new faces have joined them on their walk. "Can you hold this?" he repeats, handing her Rudolph's leash, the golden retriever was collapsed on the ground at her feet. Still confused as to what was happening, Quinn takes the leash and watches his every move with question.

He turns back towards the new faces, placing his arms behind the two women and smiling as they pull out their phone. Quinn rolls her eyes. Of course he had been recognized. She wonders if this had ever happened between them in DC but he seemed infinitely more popular here. Everyone wanted to be friends with an Avenger. She waits patiently off to the side as they harbor him questions that she knew he didn't feel comfortable answering, admiring the large buildings.

She had lived in a lot of places during her lifetime thanks to her father's career, she had seen the deserts of Arizona, faced the sheer mountain cliffs of Colorado, and survived the hot southern sun of Georgia but nothing quite as beautiful as the big city. Once again she greets Steve as he buds goodbye to the women. He leans down and huffs out a playful, straining grunt as he picks up the golden retriever who refused to walk any further. "Big fans?"

"Biggest," he corrects in a sarcastic tone.

"I thought Rudolph was your biggest fan,"

"He is. Just don't tell them that," he gives her a playful grin that makes her slightly chuckle. She doesn't know how Steve manages to walk with Rudolph in his arms and talk to her at the same time while watching where he's going, being careful not to trip over anything on the sidewalk and stepping up the pace when it came to crossing a busy intersection. She was happy that he could accompany her on her way home, she hadn't seen him in a couple of days.

As they approach her building, Steve places Rudolph back down on his feet where the dog relaxes and seemingly melts onto the sidewalk. Steve chuckles at Rudolph's lazy antics which Quinn admires with a small smile. If anyone could love that dog more than her and Jo it would be Steve. "I'm surprised you carried him all that way," Quinn attests as Steve leans up to talk to her. "He's only eighty pounds," he shrugs, placing his hands in his pockets. She rolls her eyes at him and repeats what he says sarcastically. It must be an easy statement to say being Captain America.

She fidgets awkwardly as the weight of the silence falls upon them. She can't help but look away as he gives her a side-eyed look, something she had started to see as more romantic than friendly. "Speaking of your strength!" she says a little louder than normal, which makes Steve laugh as she blushed from embarrassment. She didn't mean for it to come out that way, she just felt way too nervous for some reason. She clears her throat after apologizing. "Speaking of your strength, do you mind if I borrow you on Friday to move in my new roommate?"

"New roommate, huh? Are they nice?" Steve's voice sounds a little on edge. Rightfully so, after the numerous incidents with failed interviews for the room he half expected her to cave in to a kleptomaniac. He's surprised when she nods her head.

"The nicest person I've met in New York so far,"

He gives her a small, joking pout, causing her to nudge his arm. "Oh, come on, we met in D.C. not here," she corrects him. "So what do you say? Help me out?" Her hand extends out towards him to shake on the deal. Steve peers at it questionably as he hums. "Deal, but it comes with a price," he quickly adds the last part as he shakes her hand, making her arm go limp.

Her eyes narrow at the Avenger. "What's the price?" she asks feeling like she was being conned by her friend. He smiles as he closes the gap between the two, causing Quinn's heart to race and her face to become flushed. Her mind ran towards what could possibly be happening, but could it really be happening? It almost felt like a dream to her. She takes a plunge and steps closer to him, leaving barely any space between them, a smile appearing on Steve's face as his eyelids become hooded. She can almost feel him swoop down to go in for the kill when she hears a phone jingle. From the sound of it, it wasn't hers.

He pulls back, groaning in the process. He peers down at the screen as he pulls his phone out of his pocket before apologizing to Quinn as he answers. She let's out an exasperated sigh. She was never going to get a nice minute with him to talk about their connection. It seemed like something was always preventing them from having a moment. Whether it be Quinn's cowardice or people recognizing Steve at the wrong time. Perhaps pursuing him would be a waste of time. Plus it would relieve her of ever being a prominent damsel in distress if someone were to attack him once again.

As he returns she takes her sour frown and forms it into a fraud smile, hoping he couldn't see the distress that was taking over. "I have to get going," he sighs out, his tone sounding unenthusiastic. "So soon?" She doesn't mean to sound desperate for his presence, she had just walked forty-five minutes with him while talking. He nods, his lips pursing into a thin line. "Stark hired a PR rep for me since I live at the tower now. I guess I'm being talked about on the internet,"

Quinn once again raises a confused brow. "You mean you're trending on social media -"

"That's the word she used," he snaps his fingers at the word, causing Quinn to roll her eyes. She tucks her arms together across her chest tightly trying not to feel disgruntled about the situation. "Are you free your next day off?" he asks, perking her interests. "I have Friday and Sunday off. Friday is when I help move Robin in," she informs him. "Let's do something on Sunday," he suggests, causing her to raise her brows. Was this a date or was this a hang out or was she teaching him? "Like what?" she questions.

Steve shrugs his shoulders as he takes a step back from her and Rudolph. "It's a surprise," he says with a smile. He bids her a goodbye as he begins walking away, waving at her, leaving her confused on her doorstep.

* * *

**A/N:** Just a little update, I'm working on two new Steve Roger stories! They're not based in the MCU, they're kind of like an AU of sorts. However, not as planned out as Hey America! They will be updated every two weeks (it may go to monthly depending on how busy I am with the other stories since they're kind of on the back burner until Hey America! finishes - and I laid out all the chapters for Hey America! and I think it's somewhere between 160-175 chapters so this isn't ending any time soon), so it'll be Hey America! and one of the new stories. - Moonie


	36. CHAPTER XXXVI

**CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX**

**( **"MR. MAN" **)**

**A SIGH ESCAPES Quinn's lips as** she fixes her hair in the mirror, trying get smooth away any flyaways that escaped her brush. She was never one to worry about her looks, usually she'd rely on Jo to primp her hair, tweeze her eyebrows, or blend away any unwanted blemishes. Being without her seemed to create a hole in her heart, like she had taken advantage of living with her, to the point where she didn't know what makeup trends were even in now. Thankfully, Robin was moving in with her and by the looks of it she was equate to Jo in the makeup department. Maybe just a tinge more subtle.

She cursed to herself as she picked up the eyelash curler, pinning it to the light-bulb in the bathroom to add heat to it. A little trick she had learned from Jo. Where Jo had excelled in perfecting her makeup techniques had spent too much time focusing on working or running to even begin looking up any eye catching makeup tutorials.

A soft nudge knocks her out of her concentration, burning the top of her eyelid with the hot metal tool. She hisses in pain as she glances down as the culprit. Rudolph's soft brown eyes seemed to double in size as she gazed down upon him, a small whine escapes from his muzzle. She scoffs to herself as she looks at her eyelashes in the mirror, this was about the most she was going to get to a full face of makeup.

Perhaps it was the best since she was undoubtedly going to be sweating with all the moving. She ruffles the fur atop of Rudolph's head as she exits the restroom, heading towards the kitchen where he danced happily against the tile floor. A small smile appears on her lips as she watches how excited he got knowing it was breakfast time. She scoops out a cup of dry dog food and slaps it in his bowl, waiting for him to eagerly eat it.

Instead, the golden retriever sits in front of the bowl, staring at the kibble then glancing back up towards her with pleading eyes. "Sorry bud, it's the best I can do for now," she apologizes, placing the scoop back in the bag. Jo had gotten him too attached on wet dog food, which was always nice, she knew what he was eating but, it was just too expensive for her. Rudolph turns his nose up to the food, leaving the kitchen and Quinn behind.

"Bud," she calls out to the dog, hoping to catch his attention. Her phone vibrates against the tile on the counter, making an awful sound. She was half expecting it to be Steve calling her, asking where she was, but instead it was a an unknown number.

This peaked her curiosity, yet she was hesitant to answer it. Knowing her past experience with Hydra it had conditioned her to be untrustworthy of the unknown. She builds up enough courage to pick up the call with a skeptical greeting. _"Hello, is this Miss Quinn Cruise?"_ The posh accent of the woman confused her. She didn't know anyone from England. Her arms instinctively tuck themselves against her chest. "Yes?" her voice is still on edge. _"Miss Cruise, my name is Priya Khatri. I work for Stark Industries. How are you this morning?"_

Quinn's brows raise at the title. The name sounded familiar to her but she couldn't place where she had heard it before. "I'm fine," she answers. "How are you?" she continues the niceties, however, that's the last exchange that is pleasant with the PR rep.

_"Miss Cruise, I'm calling you today in regards to my client, Captain Rogers. I'm sure you're obviously aware of his status as an Avenger, correct?"_

"Uh, yes," _Obviously_, is what she wanted to say. "Is there something wrong?"

_"Not at all. We just have been noticing that you and Captain Rogers have been getting rather close lately -"_

"Oh, no, it's not like that," Quinn lamely attempts to correct her. She wanted it to be like that but she just wasn't too sure about them. _"Right,"_ Priya states, her friendly voice starting to disappear._ "Well, here at Stark Industries we like to keep extreme precaution over our clients, including any members of the Avengers. We know that you and Captain Rogers are fairly close and we need you to sign a non-disclosure in order to be seen out in public with him. Just as a precaution,"_

Quinn's brows knit together in confusion. A non-disclosure just for their friendship? She didn't plan on bad mouthing him in public to anyone or bad mouthing him in general. Where was this back in DC? What they were doing back then was more discreet than what they were doing now. "I'm sorry, Miss Khatri, I'm just not I follow -"

_"We need you to sign a NDA in order to be around our client. We've been made very aware of your past with Captain Rogers and I have nothing but the best intentions to keep my client safe,"_

Quinn is speechless for the first time in a while. Did Stark think she was going to intentionally hurt him? That she was just going to snap on a whim? This remark hurt her, it felt as if she'd been slapped. A burning reminder of how naïve she had been in DC after the months of what she thought was being careful. Her attitude of somewhat confused turned into a strict anger. How dare them judge her without fully knowing her. "I appreciate you trying to protect Steve but, he's my friend. And I would never dream of hurting him if that's what this is about,"

_"Miss Cruise this is precisely what this is about,"_ Priya's voice was now starting to get hostile. _"I'm not sure you fully realize the threat you possess towards Captain Rogers, nor do I think he does as well. Because of your unpredictability, we are asking you to sign this agreement to keep Captain Rogers's name in good taste -"_

"But slander mine?" Her phone vibrates next to her ear, making it irritated. She peers down to see a picture of Robin picking up a moving truck. This must've been her warning to get going. "I'll think about signing it. I have to go -"

_"I don't think I've issued the severity of this. We __**need**__ you to sign this in order to continue seeing Captain Rogers. We'll also need whatever friend you decide to show him off to to sign one,"_ Priya insists, causing Quinn's temper to almost broil over the edge.

"Fine," she says between gritted teeth. "I'll come in and sign it tomorrow -"

_"No, you will need to sign it as soon as possible, Miss Cruise,"_ Priya interrupts. Quinn pinches the bridge if her nose in order to stop herself from exploding at Priya over the phone. She didn't have time to banter about what she can and can't do.

"Listen, this is the only day I can move my roommate in. I will sign it tomorrow," Quinn persists, her voice teetering on the edge of a shout - it definitely wasn't friendly.

_"Miss __Crui__ -"_ she hears Priya protest before she cuts the line off. A large sigh escapes from her lips as she rubs her forehead. Was being Steve's friend always this difficult? She couldn't remember a time where she had to sign anything in order to see him. It wasn't even an option. Fury granted her the right to continuing teaching Steve, why did Stark feel the need to control this? Was it because of the Hydra situation? Maybe trying to be Steve's friend was wrong. Her phone vibrates in her hand once again, alerting her of a new text. She rolls her eyes, it was probably from Robin again. As she looks at the screen Steve's name pops up.

_"Where are you?" _

"Shit!" she hisses under her breath. She was supposed to pick up Steve before going over to help Robin out. She didn't have time to stew over how Priya had treated her over the phone or how annoyed she was with Tony Stark - a man she's never met before. Quinn frantically tears through the apartment looking for her keys. Once she finds them, hidden underneath a throw pillow, she pats Rudolph on the head and heads out the door.

_"I'm on my way."_

_**~BOOK TWO: AGE OF ULTRON~**_

**IT'S A MIRACLE that there was parking** beside Stark Tower that had an available upon Quinn's arrival. Whether or not the spot was meant for someone important she didn't care, she was on a mission. Extract Steve and get to Brooklyn as soon as possible without letting him know how stressed she was about the day. She takes a moment to preen herself in her rear-view mirror, pouting at the poor effort she put in to doing her makeup today.

She shakes her head to clear her thoughts, she couldn't think about herself right now. As she steps out of the car she's engulfed in the shadow of the skyscraper, which forces her to marvel at how tall the building really was. The once prominent _"Stark"_ on the top of the building was presumably redesigned into an stylized _"A"_ for the Avengers. Something she had seen them working on when she came for an earlier visit to see her mother years ago.

She meanders through the crowd of people who engulfed the area, either trying to get into the building for work or just using the tables on the outside to relax and maybe catch an Avenger or two. Once inside the noisy and cluttered outside becomes echoed in almost complete silence aside from the few phones that rang at the wooden front desk and a handful of people in suits walking about. She quickly picks up her phone from her back pocket and attempts to call Steve. No luck, it goes straight to voicemail. A groans escapes her lips as she stands awkwardly in the middle of the lobby looking completely out of place.

While everyone was dresses nicely in cool tones of black or a sleek grey suits or dresses, she stood out like a sore thumb wearing black and grey gym shorts, sneakers, and a fitted hoodie that she could easily take off when she got too hot while moving. "Excuse me, ma'am?" a voice calls out to her from the side. She swivels over to see who's calling her - a receptionist with a sweet smile who obviously noticed how confuses she looked.

"Can I help you with anything?" she questions as Quinn slowly approaches the desk, craning her neck around one last time in an attempt to find Steve. "Uh, yeah, maybe. I'm here to pick someone up. Steve Rogers?"

The receptionist raises her brows at the mention of the Avengers name. "Okay. Do you have an appointment?"

"Appointment?" Quinn reiterates, sounding even more confused. The receptionist nods her head. "Yes, per our policy all guests who request to see and Avenger must make a pre-approved appointment with the party," she informs her tapping the sign encased in plastic on the edge of her desk. Quinn's brows raise even higher as she reads the sign, the large symbols of Stark Industries and The Avengers were proudly stamped underneath the legal language.

This obviously was Tony Stark's doing, there was no way Steve would approve of this. She nods her head as she purses her lips, feeling a bright red shade of embarrassment engulf her cheeks. "Thank you," she whispers out as she places the sign back down, slowly backing away from the desk. She gnaws at her bottom lip as she takes one final look around the spacious building before deciding to wait in the car. As she turns to head out towards the door she hears a familiar voice call out for her. "Quinn!"

She turns to see Steve stepping out of the elevator, a wide smile on his face as he waves to her. She returns the smile and the wave, stepping away from the door. Hopefully this didn't make her look stupid for absentmindedly standing in the lobby like at idiot. As she approaches him she notices a smaller woman at his side dressed in business attire. She was beautiful in laments terms, especially when she looked up to smile at Steve as she said something, a giggle erupting from the both of them. Quinn tries her best to hide the jealousy that was starting to coarse through her blood. Steve wasn't hers, she knew that, but for some reason looking at him with another woman who was giving him a flirtatious look gave her an awful feeling.

Once again her lips press into a tight lipped smile as she stops halfway, not wanting to move another inch if there was going to be something upsetting she was going to witness. "You're wearing shorts today, I don't think I've ever seen you wear shorts," he notes as he approaches her, pointing at her bare legs, causing the woman next to him to giggle along with him. Quinn merely shrugs as she feels embarrassed at the comment. "I don't want to be too hot," she mutters under her breath. "Where's Robin?"

"Oh she's at her place in Brooklyn, I was going to go help her out,"

"You mean we were going to," he corrects her a small chuckle escaping his lips. Quinn joins in and laughs awkwardly along with him not wanting to come off as irritated by the strange beautiful woman's presence. She shuffles her keys in her hands out of habit when she's in awkward situations like this. "Right," Steve chides as she watches him place a hand on the woman's shoulder. "This is Priya. She's my PR," he introduces the small tan woman. Quinn resists the urge to roll her eyes. Of course this is the woman she snapped at over the phone.

She takes Priya's hand in a firm shake as she notes that it's great to finally meet her in person. She wished she could say the same. However, the comment toiled with her mind. Did Steve regularly talk about her? "I actually spoke with her earlier," Priya informs Steve. "She actually hung up on me,"

Quinn's mouth falls open at the audacity that the woman had. The nerve. Although she may have been in the wrong for hanging up on her, she didn't need to brag about it in front of Steve. Her face felt hot with anger and embarrassment. She laughs nervously to herself. "What? Quinn would never do that," Steve chuckles light-heartedly his face contorting into a weird expression - somewhere between comical and questioning. Thankfully, she had been good around Steve for him to think this was uncharacteristically of her. She begins to join in with a nervous chuckle. "Yeah, I'm sorry. I had bad reception and I didn't want to call back since I was in the car," she lies watching Priya force a giggle out.

"Well, since you're here Quinn, why don't you sign the NDA?" she asks, simply holding out a packet the size of a small book, a fake smile plastered on her face. Steve's brow raise in question as he looks at the packet. Quinn was starting to get a migraine about signing this non-disclosure, and frankly it was getting on her final nerve. Begrudgingly, she takes it and flips through the pages.

"You want me to sign this right now?" she asks, perking a brow up at the PR rep who in turn nods her head. "Doesn't he get a say in this?" she gestures over to Steve, who has put his hands in his pockets, examining the packet with a questioning gaze. "He would've but he already signed a contract with us," Priya counters, forcing Quinn's lips to purse. She can see Steve shift awkwardly in her peripheral. She thought Steve would've been more careful. "You want me to read sixty pages when I only have a limited amount of time to get to Brooklyn?" she flips through the pages once again.

"You could just sign," Priya shrugs. Quinn can tell that she was starting to get a little tense by being around her. She snorts at the statement. "And get roped into something I don't know about?"

"Do you usually read user agreements when your phone updates?" Priya questions, placing her hand on her hip while glaring at Quinn. She was starting to show that she was agitated now. Quinn rolls her eyes. "I work at Apple, of course I do,"

"Quinn," she hears Steve call for her. She gazes up at him only to receive a pleading look - something only Rudolph would do to make her roll over. He wanted to leave with her, not be stuck here doing paperwork. Quinn rolls her eyes as she signs the last page of the non-disclosure but not before adding a little of her language in. Priya's face scrunches up as soon as she reads her demands.

"The signature is just a precursor. Because of the time constraints I'm willing to sign it but on the condition that we can make addendums when I can read it thoroughly," Quinn states, watching Priya bite down on her bottom lip to restrict her anger. The PR rep rolls her eyes and shuts the packet. "Deal," she hisses out under breath, fucking the packet underneath her arm. She completely ignores Quinn's presence as she shows off a dazzling smile towards Steve. "Be careful, we don't want you straining any muscles, Mister Man," she flirts, grasping on to his left bicep for good measure as she giggles. Steve joins in the laugh making Quinn's gut wrench with envy. What was happening?

She tries her best to conceal the negative emotions she was feeling by crossing her arms across her chest. She hoped with how tightly she was hanging on was enough to conceal whatever she was feeling. She tries to place a smile on her face as Steve gazes at her, she wanted to appear content even though the whole experience in the building had her seething. What had taken him so long to get to her? Why did he ignore her call? All these questions swirled around her head, jumping to the conclusion that it was because of Priya.

She stays a steady pace in front of him, causing him to look at her with worry. He wondered if he had done anything wrong. She tries to shake the gnawing feeling of envy away. She didn't know she could get this hot headed over someone's actions, it was completely unlike her. She starts to blame it on the stress of the time constraint, she also didn't like signing something without actually reading it. Legal paperwork was tricky, she didn't know what she was getting into or even what she was turning into.

"Since when did you become famous?" she jokingly questions as she places herself in the driver's seat of the car, watching Steve climb in beside her. His brows furrow before he answers. "When I got the serum in forty-four, I guess,"

She rolls her eyes, she didn't think he'd take the question so literally. "Has it always been like this?" she asks as she types in Robin's address to her phone. "Like what?"

"You know, signing contracts and NDA's. Did you know I have to make an appointment to come see you?" Steve's brows raise at this information. He knew that when he had signed up for the Avengers it wasn't like this but, because of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s fall Stark Industries was now the main funder of the team. He was grateful for Tony doing that, he'd be out on the street otherwise, but he noticed that Quinn had a point. Things had changed exponentially since he moved into the tower. His popularity grew in size, it wasn't like he could go on a run through Central Park without being stopped for a picture like he could in DC. "It can't be all that bad, right?" he tries to explain.

"I have a place to live and Priya is actually helping me find my place here in New York," Quinn is silent for this, only merely nodding her head. He could've sworn that he saw her roll her eyes. "Right, well, I'll remember that when I have to make an appointment to see you because apparently that's a policy that I was made aware of today," she jabs, throwing the car into reverse.

Steve scoffs at her comment. Quinn tries to calm herself down, knowing that this was only going to effect her and Steve's friendship if she kept badgering him about it. She knew she couldn't let things get to her, there were always going to be girls out there who wanted him but he hasn't chosen any since he's returned from the ice. He places a firm grip on her shoulder, causing her to peer over towards him. A warm and encouraging smile is placed on his lips, causing her cheeks to become hot.

He didn't have to look so damn good all the time, and she hated that he was wearing the grey shirt that made his arms look bigger. "It's going to be okay," he reassures her, his hand travelling to the top of her shoulder blades lightly rubbing it. Her stomach erupts with butterflies. She bites the inside of her cheek to stop herself from smiling at the small gesture instead focusing on why he was doing this. He must've noticed how quiet she was being and how conflicted she looked. It was somewhat embarrassing but for some reason she didn't feel all too embarrassed.

Steve's hand stops rubbing her shoulders, leaving his arm resting behind her in a nonchalant style. Although, Steve barely seemed to notice what he was doing it was very hard for her to continue driving, knowing that his arm was slung around her shoulder. She thought for sure that he would retract it at any time but, his arm remained around her the entire car ride.

Quinn places the car in park as she finds a spot on the side of the street to park, a few spots down from where the large, orange moving truck was parked. Steve hops out of the car, squinting up and around the brick styled borough of Brooklyn. It seemed all too familiar to him and if he tried hard enough he could imagine being back in the forties. His heart sinks as he realizes that the borough had changed - as most things tend to do with time, he just didn't know it could change drastically.

Quinn places a hand on her forearm, drawing his attention down towards her. A small smile spreads across her lips. It was almost as if she were encouraging him, telling him that it was alright to be like this. Nostalgic. Instead of pulling him along with her, she drops his forearm and turns to head down the street towards the building with a moving truck in front of it. Steve follows her lead, trying to keep pace behind her without looking around. She places her hand up on his chest to stop him in front of the building.

"Maybe I should go in first. Alert them that royalty is coming," she half-way teases, Steve playfully nudges her shoulder with his own. He plants his hand in the pockets of his sweatpants and allows Quinn to leave his side, leaving him alone with his thoughts as he looked around the borough. The sound of pop music lures her into the apartment building, along with the singing of a familiar voice.

As she travels up the narrow stairwell she finds a small apartment door propped open to where the music is coming from. She cautiously enters the apartment, hoping she wasn't just entering a stranger's apartment. By the looks of the inside she could merely guess this was Robin's due to half of the furniture being gone and boxes laying everywhere. "Robin?" Quinn calls out, her voice echoing off the blue walls.

From around the corner of the hallway Robin's head pops out, a makeshift headband of bubble wrap. A wide smile grows upon her face after seeing Quinn. "Hey!" she greets over the music, turning it down once she enters the living room. Robin engulfs Quinn in a hug, making Quinn feel awkward. She knew they were supposed to be roommates but she hadn't set the personal boundaries yet. She also didn't know Robin was a hugger.

"We're almost done packing everything up, we'll just need to get everything to the moving truck," Robin informs Quinn, who flashes a confused look. "We?" Quinn reiterates. "Oh, duh," Robin snorts to herself, hitting her head in a joking way. "Mary!" she shouts, her voice creating a loud echo in the apartment making Quinn cringe. Was she this loud at _Foam Party_? A tall woman with dark curly hair and a scowl upon her face emerges from the same hallway Robin had appeared from, bubble wrap encircles her wrists as she places her hands on her hips

"Quinn this is my best friend Mary. She's helping us out," Robin introduces her friend. Quinn attempts to flash a friendly smile at the new face but Mary doesn't return it. She immediately feels intimidated by her presence. Her arms were more muscular than any woman she's ever met and her judging glare didn't help her feel comforted either.

"You're not in a weird sex cult are you?" Is the first thing that pops out of Mary's mouth. Quinn is taken back by this straight-forward nature of the woman. Her voice was the same, low, monotonous tone as Jessabelle. If she didn't know any better she'd think they were related. "What? No," she answers the bizarre question while narrowing her eyes. Robin quickly intervenes, pushing Mary aside and telling her to stop. "Sorry, she gets way too overprotective at times,"

"Only because she met her new roommate through Craigslist," Mary interjects.

"That's okay," Quinn comments, she surely understood being protective over a naïve friend. "I'm an open book, you can ask me anything," she suggests with a small smile. She could feel the sweat on the back of her neck build up as Mary continued to eye her uneasily. "How about you meet my friend? He's here to help out. Maybe you could gauge a better judgement about me if I introduced you,"

_'Maybe you could see I'm not a creep because I'm friends with Captain America',_ Quinn thought as she plastered a nervous smile on her face. She hated how Mary seemed to look at her with scrutiny. Is this how Jo's friends felt about her when she'd bring them home? Mary have her a lazy thumbs up. "Cool,"

Quinn couldn't move towards the open door fast enough. For some reason she didn't like being judged today. Not by Mary and not by Priya.

Priya.

The NDA.

Quinn mentally slapped herself as she thought of the agreement that she blindly signed off on. There was no doubt that if Robin lived with her she was going to need one too. Her hand grips the doorframe, as she careens her head back to look at the two women. She gnaws on her lip before blurting out, "I need you to promise me you won't freak out,"

Mary crosser her arms across her chest once again as Robin's large eyes widen. "Oh boy, uh," she begins to chide as she fidgets in place. "I'll try not to but I think you should know that I get excited easily so, I'm already nervous,"

Quinn can't help but watch Robin bounce in place for a quick moment. She must've been serious when she said she gets excited about meeting new people. To be fair she did make it sound like they were meeting a celebrity. Technically they were in a way. Her lips press into a thin smile as she exits the apartment building. To her surprise she comes across Steve sitting on the stoop, looking around at the buildings solemnly. It hits Quinn as soon as she looks around the area. This was his home. Brooklyn may have changed since the forties but it still must've had it's charm and it seemed to put Steve in a trance.

As she steps down to where he's sitting he snaps out of his haze. She offers him an encouraging, sympathetic smile. This was the Steve she was used to being with - not Steve the superstar. She reaches out for his hand, struggling to pull him up to his feet. She playfully grunted in the process causing Steve to let out a low chuckle at her attempt to make him laugh. She felt somewhat accomplished.

He follows her lead, walking behind her as they wind their way through the stairwell of the apartment building, all the way to the open door where bickering can be heard amongst those who were left in the apartment. She hadn't left them for too long and they were already fighting. A few words stood out to her, something about not claiming an item since it was her ex's. Robin was still clearly getting over her breakup if she wanted to keep something from her ex. It surprised her, this was something that she and Jo would fight over, she was glad to see that it extended to other friendships as well. She just hoped bickering wasn't something that she'd be doing too often with Robin. Quinn sighs as she starts to feel a headache flare up.

The music, the chaos, it was enough to instill a migraine on anyway. Quinn opens her mouth to grab their attention but as soon as she does so Steve clears his throat from behind her, announcing his presence. His cough almost sounded annoyed yet authoritative. Simultaneously, Robin and Mary stop bickering to look at the two new faces in the door way. Her new roommates jaw drops as she gazes at Steve, making Quinn feel accomplished.

She knew he'd come in handy in impressing people. Robin abruptly drops the box in her hands, sending it flying to the ground with a crashing sound. "Oh my god! No way!" she squeals in a shrill voice, making Quinn and Steve take a step back. Clearly they weren't expecting this big of a reaction. Robin hysterically giggles as she jumps up and down before waltzing over to the door where he stood by anxiously. "You're Captain America! I'm like such a big fan. What are you doing here?" Robin questions her voice well beyond ecstatic as she clutches on to Steve's hand, not knowing personal boundaries at this point. Steve gives her a nervous smile as he begins to look towards Quinn and the door anxiously. "I'm here to help," he explains, slowly extracting his hand from her grip. "Quinn said you were going to be her new roommate and I had to meet you -"

"This is amazing. Can I get a picture?" Robin asks, cutting him off abruptly. Steve hesitates as he looks to Quinn for an answer, her body is more relaxed than his as she leans up against the door-frame, her arms crossing her chest with a smug smile on her face. He got where she was coming from - he was famous and didn't act like he was. This is what he deserved. She merely nods her head once before retreating inside the house, leaving him to Robin's demands. It's not long after that Mary gravitates towards Steve as well, leaving Quinn to pack up the box that Robin had thrown to the ground.

Thankfully none of the china was completed broken, a couple were cracked but that seemed to be it as far as the damage goes. All the while Mary and Robin hang around Steve. Which in Quinn's defense was great because she does packing better alone, however, she does notice that some of the boxes have very large _C's_ written on them in bold red marker which piques her interest but figures not to bother with it at the moment.

"How much can you press?" She hears Mary ask Steve, causing her to let out a low chuckle. She didn't know she was providing that much entertainment, she thought she was providing help. "Quinn!" Robin's shrill voice startles her, causing her to jump in place. She wasn't expecting someone to sneak up on her, let alone place their hand on her back. Robin steadies her before apologizing for frightening her, to which she shrugs off. It was mainly Hydra's fault for making her this way. Robin picks the opposite side of the box she was starting to lift, noting that it was incredibly heavy for someone to lift on their own.

Her gaze absentmindedly rest on Steve as she exits the apartment with Robin. She couldn't help it, he just looked so friendly and relaxed as he chatted with Mary. It was nice to see him actually having a decent conversation with someone who wasn't herself - even if it was about exercising. "So," Robin starts as the start to descend the staircase of the building. "How do you know him?"

Quinn merely shrugs. It wasn't like she was going to hide anything from her, especially if they were going to be living together. "We worked together as S.H.I.E.L.D.,"

The statement alone is enough to make Robin stop mid step out of curiosity. "Like the government agency? Were you like an agent?"

Quinn let's out a sarcastic laugh. "No, I was in I.T.,"

Robin hums as if she's intrigued by the field of work she was in. It wasn't that fancy. Not nearly as interesting as Steve's line of work. "He's so much better looking in person," Robin notes as she brushes her hands off from lifting the box. "I bet he's super strong,"

Quinn's lips press into a firm line as she stands outside of the building, thinking about Steve. She hadn't seen him in action, or at least from what she could remember she had never seen him in action, besides clips that she's seen of him on television. She had to do a little research on him ever since her memories became wiped. Sure she'll remember a tiny detail from time to time, like how he looked when he was asleep, but nothing too big. She had to distract herself from thinking about him. She couldn't get too close to him, even though she desperately wanted to.

She may need to sign some different paperwork with Priya that might make her head spin. "Mary looks strong too," she states gaining Robin's attention as her brow perks up at the statement. Quinn anxiously points to her own biceps to elaborate. Robin forces out a chuckle. "Strong is an understatement," she replies. "Mary has her own krav-maga studio a couple blocks away,"

"Krav-maga?"

"It's a class that primarily teaches women's self-defense. Mary just likes to push her limits," Robin shrugs as they begin to climb back up to the apartment. That explained the raw muscles that Mary had, along with her interests in Steve's workout routine. She was comparing herself next to the world's only super soldier. As they come back into the apartment Quinn notices that they're still chatting away with their daily routines. It was nice to see him actually enjoying a conversation for once and unforced.

"What's the difference?" Quinn asks as she points to a box that had a large _C_ written across it. "Don't touch it!" Robin interjects, her voice raising as if Quinn was about to touch a bomb. She in turn gives her a wide eyed glance as she continues to point to the box. Robin composes herself before reassuring her. "That belongs to my ex, Cynthia,"

"Oh," Quinn hums out, quickly pressing her lips together as her eyes scan for another box. She could tell from the way Robin looked that the breakup wasn't easy. If she remembered correctly Cynthia had cheated on her. This must be why she's so anxious to get a new place. Hopefully they didn't run into her while packing. Robin's attitude seemed to shift from bright and bubbly to almost mopey as she began packing once again.

Quinn didn't mean to upset her in any way, she felt upset at herself for reminding Robin of her ex. She's never felt her heart ache for someone she truly loved, only pangs of jealousy when it came to Steve. She had only had her heart broken once and that was a while ago, ever since then she's been somewhat defensive. Steve's hearty laughter fills the room along with Mary's. She whips her head around to see them both picking up a side of a mattress that was much bigger than the both of them. Seeing Steve be himself, not an Avenger and not a celebrity, made Quinn's heart throb. Perhaps he could change her outlook on love. Or perhaps he could damage her beyond compare.

_**~BOOK TWO: AGE OF ULTRON~**_

**THE THROBBING SENSATION burns in the** bottom of her feet as she places herself down on the ground. Moving was hard, she had forgotten just about how much she had hated it. Even with Steve's help her muscles were sore and ached from the strenuous lifting. Not to mention that even though Robin's things were moved into their apartment, it didn't mean they were one hundred percent done with the move - she still had to help Robin unpack her belongings to see what would go with the apartment. Just thinking about it made her want to collapse into a puddle of jelly.

The smell of pizza wafts through the apartment along with the sound of joyous and inquisitive talking coming from Mary, Robin, and Steve. If she had more energy she'd join in on the conversation in the kitchen but her legs protested. She can't help but run her calves. This is what she got for not running as much, Maddox seemed to dampen her spirits when it came to it. She had been rather lethargic ever since she moved to New York. The smell of pizza draws closer to her, causing her to look where the strong smell was coming from.

A plate drifts into her sight with a large piece of cheese pizza on it, dripping and soggy with grease. She can barely focus on the delicious looking food with Steve smiling down at her as he offers her the plate - which she graciously takes. He slides down on to the ground next to her, leaning his back against the front of the couch, following her lead as she scarfs down the pizza. It's the first actual thing she's eaten today, she's almost embarrassed by how fast she ate it but even more impressed that Rudolph hasn't even attempted to steal it from her plate or Steve's.

Robin and Mary are quick to follow Steve into the living with their own slices of pizza. Quinn smiled at the thought that he was like a mother duck, having Robin and Mary trail closely behind him. If Jo were here it'd feel complete. She's tuned out of most of the conversation as her hunger takes over, it's not like they were interested in talking to her anyways when Steve Rogers is in the same room as them. In a way his popularity did make her feel bad, she wanted to be noticed and talk to her roommate to gauge what kind of person she was but at the moment she didn't care, she just wanted to relax.

Well, relax as much as she could seeing as she still needed to work on EDGE. She feels a little guilty for not working on it as much as she could've today, she could even start working on it now but she feels distracted with company over. Especially if that company is Steve. Quinn pats her own lap, offering Rudolph to come and lay on her as she starts to tune into the conversation that the three were having.

"Is everyone on Asgard as buff as Thor?" Robin wonders. Quinn stifles back a snort as she begins to pet the golden retriever who was now flopped across her lap, his head resting on Steve's leg, looking up at the plate in his hand as if he were begging. She had never pictured Steve to be one for girl gab, perhaps he was just being polite enough to answer their questions, not wanting to hurt anyone's feelings. It's not until a touchy subject comes up that piques her attention. The obvious question that was bound to be asked at some point.

"Are you seeing anybody?" The question from Robin was enough to make Quinn almost choke on her pizza. Thankfully she kept her composure as she intently listened for the apparent answer. However, she didn't like how he was lingering. She tries to snap out of this anxious feeling, she was reminded that he wasn't looking to settle down after she had spent time with him. In fact he told her it was one of the many reasons why he respected her, she didn't force anyone or herself on him, although it's now become a running joke that their made for each other between the people who know the pair (Jo, Blair, Natasha, etc.).

"I'm not seeing anyone at the moment," he answers to Quinn's surprise. "At the moment?" Mary questions as she sinks further into the couch. "Does that mean you're interested in someone?" Robin pipes in, causing Quinn's blood pressure to rise. She hated feeling like this. "I'm not going to answer that," is all he says before taking a bite of his pizza leaving Quinn to her devices. Of course her mind jumps to he's already seeing someone - then it jumps to Priya immediately after that. How couldn't he be interest in her? She was beautiful. Would he even tell her if he was seeing someone?

She tries to not let this consume her thoughts or at least not show that she's wondering what he means. It must be a common question for him. Instead, she focuses her attention to counting all the boxes she'll have to unpack. Somehow counting seemed to calm her nerves. It's not until her eyes and on a specific box that she finally finds her voice.

"Does that box have a _C_ on it?" she questions, pointing over to the small box next to the television. May head snaps over to the direction of the box while Robin's eyes grow dark with hurt. "Yeah," she whispers out, her voice just loud enough to be heard.

"Who didn't get the memo?" Mary asks aloud glaring at the small box. Steve looks down at Quinn confused, she merely shrugs. "I didn't I brought it," he announces. They all watch as Robin slowly makes her way over to the box and pick it up. Mary tries to console her from her relaxed position on the couch, as Steve leans down to whisper to Quinn.

"What's in it? Like a bomb?" The question is enough to make Quinn snort at the ludicoracy. "No it's all her ex's things," she answers, nudging his shoulder with hers which he mimics. Robin turns and places the box on the table in front of them, opening it up. Quinn had to admit that she was pretty curious to see what her ex was like, whatever was in the box was a part of the mysterious woman. "It's just a box of her stuff. All random," Robin's voice is filled with confusion as she pulls out an ashtray, a magazine, and a watch and places them on the coffee table. "There's even a bra -"

"What size?" Quinn interrupts, causing Mary to huff out a laugh and Steve to blush moderately. "Quinn," he hisses at her as she catches the cream lace bralett that Robin tosses to her. She merely shrugs in response to Steve as she lines up the bralett along her own chest, pouting in the process. "I have a bit more cupage," she mumbles as she tosses the lace garment back up on the table. Out of the corner of her eye she can see Steve's face is a vibrant red as he shakes his head at her actions. She can't help but chuckle under her breath. "Should I give it back? Or mail it? Or should I keep it?"

"She cheated on you," Mary chimes in after taking a swig of her beer.

Robin let's out a frustrated sigh. "Yeah, I know but -"

"We do have a rooftop," Quinn interrupts once again, gaining everyone's attention. "I know there's like a little spot where people can be outside and hang out. I think there's a fireplace,"

"Burn it?" Robin's voice sounds incredulous as she narrows her eyes at her new roommate.

"That seems illegal," Steve interjects. Quinn merely nods her head in agreement. Maybe it was a bad idea. Besides she couldn't say no to Steve's moral judgment. If she would follow anyone's advice it'd be his. She also could see this being a part of breaking the lease agreement. Not like she wasn't already with having an eighty pound dog and a roommate she didn't notify the landlord of. Hopefully he'd never find out. "But it sounds fun and she cheated on me so...let's start a fire," Robin chides, quickly taking the box in her hands and shuffling off to put her shoes on.

Steve lets out an exasperated sigh, clearly not wanting any part of what was about to happen. She almost felt bad for bringing it up, but it's what Jo would do. Mary huffs out a sigh as well before pushing herself off the couch and heading to find where her friend went. This gave the pair a bit of time to themselves. Quinn couldn't help but overthink about things to say during this time. Every time she could form a sentence her mouth became dry and her face became heated.

She took note that Steve didn't seem to want to even start a conversation himself. Instead his eyes darted off and around the living room, occasionally he'd glance over in her direction before quickly avoiding her gaze. Even though Quinn thought he'd be upset with her for suggesting doing this, what she didn't know was Steve was also trying to find the right words to form a conversation about her eccentric roommate, however, his mind couldn't help but run through the events of what had happened today.

Somewhere in the distance Quinn could hear her name being called. She was going to be the tour guide of this madness. "I guess we're doing this," she shrugs as she struggles to get on her aching feet, wincing slightly at the pain. "This is a horrible idea," Steve notes, earning a low chuckle from Quinn. She extends her hand to help him up on to his feet. She grunts as she has a hard time pulling him up, she could only imagine what she'd do if he was dead weight.

"Come on, just entertain her. She had her heart broken," she suggests trying to lighten the mood, make him have a little sympathy for what they were doing. "Would you burn things over a broken heart?" he questions making her stop in her tracks. If she was being completed honest, no, destroying someone's property wasn't the best thing to do and a good way to end up in jail. She turns her head over her shoulder to scan his features. Pursed lip, concerned brow, he was nervous for some odd reason as he awaited her reply. She simply offered him a smirk. "I don't intend on having my heart broken,"

* * *

A/N: There was an alternate ending where you did get to see them up on the roof burning Robin's ex's thing. Steve and Robin (did not mean to make Stranger Things reference) had an interaction more or less the line of this:

Robin: "Thank you all for coming to this ceremony where we let bygones be bygones,"

Steve: "That's a really weird way to phrase arson,"

But it was ultimately scratched because this chapter is long enough as is.


	37. CHAPTER XXXVII

**CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN**

**( **THE FERRIS WHEEL **)**

**THERE'S A NERVOUS pit starting to** burn its way through her stomach. Her foot taps anxiously against the linoleum floor of the small, pristine waiting room. The smell of the sterilized room was enough to make her gag instantly but she needed to remind herself to calm down, it wasn't the end of the world. She just hated confrontation. No doubt that's why Dr. Woodruff had called for her while she was visiting her mother. Even the look on her mother's face was worried, she had no recollection of Dr. Woodruff, she was reading her emotions at face value. She runs her hand through her hair, her fingers ultimately getting stuck through the tangles that she managed to brush over at the ends. A sigh escapes her lips. It's time for a haircut.

"Miss Cruise?" A British accent calls her name, pulling her from her thoughts. She glances up to see none other than Dr. Woodruff standing at the door of the waiting room, lab jacket on, chart in hand, deep circles under her eyes, auburn hair hastily pulled back into a bun. She looked like she was having a helluva day. Her head jerks in a motion for Quinn to follow her as she turns out of the waiting room. She barely has time to spring on to her feet as the renowned doctor begins strutting away, her heels clicking further and further away. "Doctor Woodruff," Quinn calls out after her, cursing her for being so fast, perhaps it was the long legs she possessed.

Though her voice sounds distressed the doctor doesn't heed to her, instead, she ignores her allowing her to catch up as she fiddles with keys to her office. Her attitude towards Quinn made her nervous, no doubt she was on a power trip. In some aspects, she wished she hadn't moved to New York so she didn't have to have these weekly sit-downs with her. Ever since she had brought up EDGE it's like she couldn't get off her case, like she was actually working for her without pay. "It's good to see you, Quinn," Dr. Woodruff announces as she finally is able to enter her office.

Although the comment seems light and nice, Quinn knew it was double-edged, especially with the tone of her voice. She tries her best to not show any weakness or that she was upset with sitting in her office as she slides into the plastic chair across the desk from the doctor. Her eyes dart around the office like usual, it was extremely well decorated with certificates that showed how well Woodruff was qualified, along with a few personal pictures and a couple of miscellaneous trinkets. Without those few indications of Dr. Woodruff being a normal person, she would've guessed that she lived a terrible, depressing life with the way she always talked down to her and to the people she worked with.

Yes, she's seen how she's talked to her mother's nurse Monyce. It's not pleasant, frankly neither was she. Dr. Woodruff flips through the pages of the manila folder she had placed on the desk, seeming disinterested in Quinn's presence. "How are you, Doctor?" Quinn asks, finding her voice after a moment of silence. "Not... particularly...well," the doctor chides, taking time in between each word as she continues to flip through the pages of the file.

Suddenly Quinn's curiosity picks up, her mind starts wandering towards what could be in the file that's more important than talking to her. She was on a time constraint. She needed to get home, she had to get ready to see Steve as he said he wanted to _"try something"_ with her. Just thinking about what he could mean made her body tingle with anticipation. Dr. Woodruff quickly flips through the file once more before placing it in her desk drawer, the sound of it slamming made Quinn jump back and out of her thoughts. "Miss Cruise -"

"Quinn," she interrupts the doctor. She had told her several times before to just call her by her actual name, no titles, no last name. Obviously, she didn't care.

"Quinn," Dr. Woodruff corrects herself, a brow perking up as she adjusts her sights on her. "I can only assume you must know why I called you here,"

"To yell at me?"

Dr. Woodruff's lips press into a thin line, her patience was wearing thin with the apparent lack of sleep. "To yell at you," she whispers under her breath, an obvious sarcastic tone hinting in her voice. She lets out a sigh before repositioning herself to a more uptight posture in her chair, before interlocking her hands with one another in front of her on her desk. "We're here to talk about Marianne and her condition," she bluntly states. "It's been apparent that since you've recently moved to be closer to her, she's been progressing but also regressing in some areas that we've never seen before,"

"What do you mean by regressing?" Quinn questions, her voice becoming cold as her gaze narrows.

"Well, when you weren't here all the time Marianne would have common episodes, "Where's my family?", "Where am I?", all of that. Since you've arrived that's dwindled significantly,"

"Well that's great," she interrupts, relaxing into her seat. "How is that regressing?"

"You didn't let me finish," Dr. Woodruff states. "Once you arrived Marianne's questions have altered from "Where am I? Why am I here?" to "When am I leaving? Why can't I be dismissed? Where is my son?" All questions that show some signs of progression but most are dangerous to be asking in her state. You wouldn't happen to be telling her that your brother is still alive and giving her hope?"

Quinn wanted to squirm under the pressure but she sat still, almost statuesque, staring at the doctor. "No," she shrugs nonchalantly even though it was a direct lie. Dr. Woodruff"s brows raise before she clears her throat to continue. "The reason I phrase these questions as dangerous because of her mental state. I fear that if she starts thinking these questions, she may begin wandering the halls at night when we're low on staff, perhaps even make a break for it. We can't have that with her, she'll be too confused. She could become a danger to others along with herself, especially since you say that the last place you saw her have a coherent thought was in Seattle about seven years ago,"

"That's correct," Quinn responds. Her mood becomes more somber as she remembers back to her life in Seattle - the last time she visited her mother before she forced her to go to the hospital to check on her state after she had an episode. She had thought she was crazy but seeing her mother broken pulled on her heartstrings.

"It's best for her to be under careful watch, where people are around her constantly," Dr. Woodruff speaks up. "Which is why I suggest that she treat at the facility,"

Quinn rolls her eyes at the mention of the facility. It's not like she hadn't forgotten about it, it had been her main priority in saving money for it. Without the support of Jo, it's been rather hard. Hopefully, now that Robin was moved in, she could cut the cost on what she'd be paying and be able to save faster. Quinn gnaws at her bottom lip, avoiding her gaze. "I know, Dr. Woodruff. I have a good portion of it saved up for her move. I just need a little more -"

"Time?" The doctor interrupts in a hasty voice. Quinn attempts to crack a smile to ease the tension between them. Of course, she was getting sick and tired of her excuses for the lack of money. This all seemed like a trap to her. "Honestly, Dr. Woodruff, I am trying," her voice sounds exasperated to a degree. Even she was tired of giving the same answer. And she was tired of her money being sucked right out of her wallet every time she got a check. "I just need a couple more weeks worth of paychecks and I promise you, I'll be ready to have her settled into your facility,"

Dr. Woodruff's jaw clenches before it relaxes as if she was contemplating giving her a lecture. Quinn gives her no leeway to look around, she only glares at her causing her to feel meek under her piercing gaze. The doctor huffs out a sigh before sinking back into her plush chair, nodding once. If she gave her any more chances she'd feel more guilty. She felt as if she was taking advantage of her already. She takes Dr. Woodruff's relaxed - almost bored state as the perfect cue to leave. She couldn't get out of the chair fast enough.

As her hand rests on the doorknob a wave of guilt courses through her, the doctor only wanted to see her mother get better - it was her life's work and she was the best in the field. The fact that she's given her more than enough opportunities to let her mother stay at her facility was a blessing, she shouldn't treat it as a curse. There were people out there who'd take any chance to put their loved ones in her care.

She turns to see that Dr. Woodruff had already pulled out another filing, scribbling down notes inside of it, her hand rubbing the top of her forehead as if she was stressed. "I'll have EDGE ready soon enough," Quinn states, gaining Dr. Woodruff's distracted attention. At first, she narrows her eyes as if she's trying to remember what she was talking about. The more she stares The more apparent it is that she does know what she's talking about, she's just trying to gauge if her word was valid. After a moment of watching Quinn squirm under her gaze, the doctor forces a smile upon her face and nods her head once. "I look forward to seeing it in action,"

_**~ BOOK TWO: AGE OF ULTRON ~**_

**QUINN**** GROANS IN frustration as she** attempts to pull her golden hair up into a bun. She was trying to go for a clean bum, but instead, it seemed to come out messier than a messy bun. She pouts as she looks at herself in the mirror. Her makeup looked nice, she had already tried on the outfit she was going to wear to see Steve and it looked fine, it was just her hair. She had always had some problems trying to look the way she wanted it to look if it wasn't what she had pictured she'd want to give up. Not this time. She pulled a few strands into the bun, making her hair look somewhat decent.

A perfect messy bun for the mess that she was.

Her phone vibrates on the surface of her vanity mirror making her gasp in surprise. She had messaged Jo earlier to get her advice on how to manage her hair. She also missed her presence. Granted she was air-headed and stubborn she was also her best friend and her shoulder to cry on. She wanted to vent about the things that had been happening but she had been busy with her job. As she took the phone in her hands her smile disappeared, a scowl replaced it as she read the words **_"STARK INDUSTRIES"_** run across the top of the caller ID.

She contemplated picking up but she begrudgingly answered, thinking it could potentially be Steve. She should've stuck with her gut of not answering as the unpleasant tone of Priya's voice greeted her. "What can I do for you today?" Quinn questions, placing the phone back down on her vanity as the sound of Priya's breathing echoed through the speaker.

_"__I'm calling in regards to Captain Rogers," _her voice rang through the speakerphone, making her very aware of how loud it was. Of course, it was about Steve, why else would she call? Quinn rolls her eyes as stands up from her vanity, heading towards her bed where her clothes were laid out. Suddenly, Robin enters her bedroom, mouth agape as if she's going to ask a question. Quinn quickly places a finger up to her lips to hush her. Robin's mouth shuts as she looks quizzically at the phone on the vanity. Quinn mouths to her roommate that it's Priya, making her eyes widen at the mention of her name. Robin wasn't exactly a fan of the PR rep for Steve as well, seeing as she had dropped off the large NDA to her while being at work.

"Shoot," Quinn offers in a sigh, knowing that this wasn't going to be pleasant. "It looks like we've just become aware of your outing with Captain Rogers. It wasn't approved. I'm just calling to let you know that unless there are appointments that are scheduled a couple of days in advance and approved by myself, Captain Rogers, and Mister Stark, we cannot allow you to be with Captain Rogers,"

Robin's brows furrow at the statement, her mouth flying open in shock. Quinn was also confused by this statement. She had to decide days in advance if she wanted to be with Steve? It didn't settle too well with her. "Is Steve aware of this stipulation?" she questions, sitting on the bed next to Robin. Did he set her up for failure? Did she even need to stress about looking nice today? This day seemed to be getting worse by the moment._ "Captain Rogers is now aware of this, yes," _

"I guess I'm just confused, Priya," she states, standing up from her bed. She grabs her phone and places it just beneath her chin. "He's the one who asked if I was doing anything today. He's the one who made these arrangements saying it's a surprise. You're telling me that I have to make an appointment and get approved by you because he wants to surprise me?"

_"I know it may be confusing for someone like you, but trust me it's completely legal and it's in your NDA that you signed,"_ Priya's voice is sickeningly sweet. Quinn has the urge to throw her phone on the ground at the statement. Robin's face is filled with disgust as she looks over to her. Quinn shakes her head, she doesn't even want her to elaborate on what she meant by that. Instead, she moves past it, not trying to let it ruin her day. "So does that mean I have to make an appointment to see him today since we have plans?"

"Unfortunately, you'll have to schedule a couple of days in advance in order to see Captain Rogers,"

"Great," she sighs out of frustration before being caught off guard by her ringtone. She looks at the screen to see Jo's name scroll across the top of the caller ID. A moment of relief flows through her, finally someone worth talking to to encourage her. She couldn't stand to listen to the PR rep threaten legal action against herself or throw a new curveball into her relationship with Steve. "Ah, Priya, I'm going to have to call you back," she quickly states.

She doesn't have the patience or the time to listen to Priya try to warn her about the dangers of seeing Steve on more than one occasion in public. Frankly, she couldn't care less about being seen with him in public. As soon as she hits the end button she rolls her eyes collectively with Robin, she was thankful she wasn't the only one who witnessed her being harassed by the woman. "What a killjoy," her roommate jokes, causing a smile to appear on her lips. "You could say that again," Quinn replies, as she presses the green button to Jo's call. It was a relief to finally hear her voice after not being able to see her or even talk to her.

She quickly puts her on speakerphone announcing that Robin was in the room with her. _"The new roommate, huh?"_ Jo's voice crackles over the receiver. Robin perks up from the bed at the mention of herself. "That's me!" she yips out excitedly.

_"You're her new emotional support?"_

Quinn stares at the phone in question before looking to Robin who merely shrugs. "For the time being," she states making Quinn's cheeks light up. She was responsible enough to not need an emotional coach, she had no idea what Jo and Robin meant by being her emotional support. If they wanted to support her, they'd help her with her mother, yet Robin was too new and Jo was in Miami.

"Guys I'm having a crisis right now. I don't have time to shoot the shit," Quinn stresses as she looks at the clothes strewn across her bed. She didn't know whether or not Priya was being serious about Steve not showing up. Her next scheduled day off was a week away, it's not like she couldn't plan for that, she just had her hopes set on today. _"What's the situation?"_ Jo questions, leaving Quinn to let out a large sigh of frustration.

She didn't want to relive the situation but she had to. She'd only known about Priya's existence for a short time and every time she thought about her she got a headache. "I was supposed to be getting a surprise from Steve tonight," she sighs out the answer before perching herself on the chair in front of her vanity mirror. "But apparently I have to schedule an appointment to see him a week in advance and it has to be approved by several different people,"

_"That sounds like horse shit,"_ Jo spits out, catching her off guard by the vulgar language. Her eyes widen as she turns to look at Robin, fearing that she'd be offended. However, she seems unphased by this even nods her head with Jo in agreement. "I know," Quinn huffs out. "I was trying to look cute today as well. I'm half hoping he'll show up anyways,"

_"I'll check for you,"_ Jo offers, causing her interest to pique. She instantly regrets mentioning this to her, she didn't want to seem too desperate. "N-no!" she shouts over the receiver a little too loud and a little too quick, causing Robin to snicker. She feels flustered, she didn't like feeling this way. "I can ask him," she lies. She knew she wasn't going to ask Steve if he was actually going to show, she was too much of a coward to face rejection - it's why she didn't put herself out there. The way she felt at the moment made her heart sink. She never wanted to be this hung up on someone. _"You don't have to jump hoops and hurdles just to send him a simple text right?"_ Jo teases.

"Not that I'm aware of but I'm sure it's somewhere in that God awful agreement I was forced to sign off on,"

_"Agreement?"_ Jo reiterates.

"It's like a one hundred page non-disclosure agreement between Steve and basically everyone who he's come in contact with," Robin informs her. "Including me, and I've only known him for a few days,"

_"I didn't get one,"_ Jo states causing Quinn to let out a wry laugh. "Consider yourself lucky," Robin replies with the same sarcasm. Quinn rolls her eyes. "I've only met her once and she has this weird, standoffish, type of nature about her. But when she talks to Steve it's nonchalant, like she's an actual person and not this corporate asshole,"

_"So she dictates most of his personal life?"_

"Pretty much," she states, biting her lower lip out of nervous habit.

_"Quinn, she's screwing you over,"_ Jo impedes, her voice sounding lithe. Her brows knit together as she stares at the blatantly obvious assumption, her eyes drift towards Robin who just shrugs. Even Robin knew Jo was right. Even if she was, it wasn't like she could do anything to stop it. "Well," Quinn simply mumbles from under her breath while shrugging it off. Of course, her heart felt like it was being chopped up into finely minced meat but she wasn't going to share that information to anyone, she didn't want to be babied.

Her phone vibrates, alerting her of a new text. Her brows raise as she reads Steve's name come across the top of the screen. _"Pick you up at fifteen-hundred - Steve"._ She rolls her eyes. She's known him for a while and he still feels the need to put his name after every text he sends to her. However, she was elated to receive the good news from him. She wondered if he spoke to Priya about the situation and he worked his magic on her. She didn't care, she was just happy that they were going to have a moment alone together. Maybe she'd grow enough courage to tell him how she felt, yet a small voice in the back of her hindered her from ever convincing herself to.

"Apparently he doesn't care," Quinn states, a small smile appearing on her lips as she turns and shows the text to Robin. _"He's still coming?"_ Jo questions, her voice louder than usual over the speaker, catching Quinn off guard. She must've been excited. Jo chuckles and whoops in excitement after Quinn confirms that he is still coming to pick her up. _"I knew loverboy wouldn't let you down," _

_**~ BOOK TWO: AGE OF ULTRON ~**_

**HER HEARTBEAT RUNS fast with anticipation.** She hadn't felt this nervous in so long. She couldn't refrain from pacing within the living room, often looking towards the window that overlooked the sidewalk along with the bustling street. Robin chuckles from the couch, catching her attention. Robin had quickly divulged into the way things were ran around here and had not quite gotten used to Quinn's nervous antics. Watching her pace back and forth deeply humanized her.

Although she was beyond excited to be getting or going on a surprise with Steve and she couldn't be happier, she felt as if she wanted to curl up into a ball on the floor and cry with how swirly her head felt. She hated it when her emotions got the best of her. On one hand, she excited but on the other, she was nervous that she wasn't going to get what she wanted. All she wanted to do at this point was curl up beside Robin, with a bowl of cereal and watch horrible rom-coms with her new roommate as some sort of bonding.

"Can you chill?" Robin questions, her mouth full of Cap'n Crunch. Quinn lets out a groan of frustration as she runs her hands through her hair, plopping down on the couch. If she watched a little television with Robin she could easily forget about the tension building up in her stomach. "You're not going to pass out when you see him, right?"

"I don't know. Do you think it's weird to be acting like this?" Quinn's voice is beyond jittery - almost as if she were in hyperactive mode.

"Of course not, you like him, you just don't want him to disappoint," Robin comforts her with a warm smile making Quinn feel somewhat relaxed. Somewhat. However, just the thought of being alone with Steve was enough to make the pit in her stomach bloom with butterflies. She grasps on to her torso to stop the feeling. "Okay, I thought I was just going crazy," she admits with a sheepish smile.

"Having expectations doesn't make you crazy. Just try to relax, because you're making me a little anxious. Remember it's just Steve, you've hung out with him dozens of time before,"

_But I don't even remember those times,_ Quinn thought, trying her best to suppress herself from actually saying it. She sucks in a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "Yeah, you're right it's just Steve, I have nothing to worry about,"

But with her, there was something to always worry about. Whether it be Steve standing her up because of this obscure agreement or if it hadn't gone as what she had expected. Or in the extreme case, what could happen to them in the meantime, if they were attacked or if someone she knew was attacked. Worry flowed through her veins as regularly as blood, spreading to each corner of her body, igniting a new sensation with each thought. Sweat began to build on her brow, her stomach began churning wildly, contorting whatever was in her up. "Oh no," she whispers out as she rushes forward, running to the restroom. She was going to be sick.

She understands why she was letting her feelings get to her. Perhaps it was because the last time she was close to Steve she was manipulated into hating him, was that what was causing the horrible reactions to him? She had never vomited before seeing anyone, nervous or not. She was starting to think Hydra had gotten the better of her and the mere thought of her and Steve doing something secluded doing something she didn't know about was driving the sleeper agent in her mad. Was she becoming her worst enemy?

She slides down on to the tile floor of the bathroom, her mouth agape as she gasps for air. Her makeup had become somewhat ruined with the tears that stained her waterline. She doesn't want to make eye contact with Robin as she sees her crouch down beside her with a concerned look on her face. A few days into knowing her and she was already starting to act like Jo in so many ways. Robin's lips press into a thin line as she wraps tissue around her hand, patting Quinn's already lackluster makeup away in an attempt to clean her up.

"You took worried sick to a new level," Robin teases under her breath hoping to gain some sort of laugh from Quinn, she becomes even more concerned when all Quinn does is stare at the bathtub in front of them. "Maybe I should call Steve and tell him to come another time -"

"No!" Quinn hastily interrupts, causing Robin's brow to furrow. "No? You're a mess right now. I'm trying to help you," Robin tries to get her to sympathize with her. She needed to see that her paleness and the dazed look in her eyes didn't correlate with being healthy. She was obviously sick or under so much stress she was actually getting sick of it. "You don't look too hot. Maybe you should rest instead,"

Once again Robin is cut off during her sentence as the buzzer on the door alarms both women that someone is here. Steve. Quinn's eyes widen as she realizes that this is the moment she's been waiting for. There was no time to dwell on any negative emotions now that he was around, they all seemed to disappear. She hoists herself up from the floor, looking at herself in the mirror and cringing at her makeup. She takes a moment to consider redoing the whole look but instead goes on to take it off.

Steve had seen her many times without makeup, this wouldn't be different. The only things she reapplies to make her confidence grow is her eyeliner and her lipstick. As she preens herself in the mirror she sees Robin disappear towards the door to answer it, saying she was going to turn Steve away. This didn't settle right in Robin's stomach.

Quinn doesn't have a second moment to retouch up her lips once again as she darts after Robin who has already opened the door, looking confused as ever. Quinn doesn't quite understand her confusion until she sees a man walk in. The man had a lot of similarities to Steve but this wasn't him. His hair was darker, and longer, he sported a beard. Everything about him screamed west coast surfer circa nineteen ninety-nine. Immediately this put her on edge, wondering who this man was.

A scowl formed on her face. "Oh! You're not Steve, or at least I don't think you are," Robin greets in surprise. Quinn's brows furrow, as she tries to step in between the stranger and Robin. Finally, her overprotective nature was starting to show throw once again.

However, she stops mid-stride as a familiar voice speaks. "It's me, Robin,"

For a moment Quinn's brain can't even function correctly. It was Steve's voice but he looked so much unlike himself. Her mind becomes jumbled with confusion looking for answers that all point to Stark. "I didn't think that much time passed since we last saw each other. Was I in a coma and no one told me?" Robin teases once again, pondering with a thumb held to her chin. Quinn steps behind her, looking at him once again, taking in his looks for a long measure.

This was not the Steve she knew. However, his smile was the same, even though it was slightly masked by a beard. Her heart stopped. It was Steve. "What's this? What are you wearing?" she questions, picking at the way too casual jacket, something she'd never thought to see him wear. His hand comes up to stop her from analyzing his clothes, he knew she'd throw him under a microscope for inspection when he arrived like this. "It's a compromise between myself and Priya. She at least wanted me to be safe and wear a disguise if we were to go out in public again,"

"Oh my," her fingers absentmindedly brush the thistly hairs of the beard, making her fingers tingle in the process. "You look like a Wookie,"

"And you look pretty,"

The comment alone is enough to make Quinn's heart rate climb. She can feel a vibrant hue of red spread across her cheeks. Here she thought she looked terrible but in Steve's opinion, her everyday look was enough to be considered pretty.

Robin's nose scrunches up at the googly eyes the pair were making at each other. The fact that they hadn't acted on their emotions until now had her boggled. If she didn't know better she'd say they were already a couple. Which makes the stipulation Priya put on them unbelievable. It didn't settle right with her. She'd have to do some investigating of her own while they were gone. Her arms cross and she huffs out a sigh gaining their attention. "It's getting a little stuffy in here, don't you think?" she states, trying to push them out to get on with whatever surprise Steve had been promising. "Right," Steve mutters out, breaking out of the trance first. "Ready to go?"

"Uh," Quinn mumbles in hesitation, her mind still trying to wrap around the compliment that was thrown at her from earlier. She feels something along across her shoulder while still uttering out the word "uh". Her purse. Robin has draped it around her shoulder in an assist to get them on their way. As Quinn stares at her roommate in confusion, Robin returns it with a humble smile and a nod of her head towards Steve. A subtle way of saying _"Get the hell out of here". _

"I guess," Quinn stammers out, her hands instantly latching on to her purse. "Where exactly are we going?"

"Only the best place to go in New York,"

Quinn pauses to think about what he means. He obviously wanted her to guess. "I've been to Central Park a million times. Unless you mean Broadway,"

Steve makes a slight humming sound as she guesses where they're going. "You just said a casual place and a fancy street like it was nothing,"

"I'm a woman of simple taste," she smugly shrugs off with a smirk, gaining a genuine smile from Steve. "Then you'll like Coney Island,"

Quinn's brows raise in surprise. She really had no idea what was at Coney Island, only that it may have a couple of rides but that was about it. She hadn't even thought to go there since she moved. "I've got to say I'm a little excited. I've never been," she sheepishly admits. Steve grins. "You'll love it," he admits as he opens the door behind him, leaving it pried for her to walk through first.

Quinn doesn't hesitate to leave, she'd been waiting for this the whole time. An aggressive hissing sound draws Steve's attention back into the apartment. Robin stands with her arms crossed, glaring at him as if she was sizing him up. She quickly points her two fingers at her eyes before pointing them back at him. A subtle but overplayed way of saying, _"I'm watching you"_. For the first time, Steve rolls his eyes at the new roommate before shutting the door.

Quinn can feel her body temperature rise as she steps out on to the sidewalk, watching Steve follow in her steps. She had to stifle a chuckle as a cool blast of wind trickles past them, making Steve's fake beard flowing in its trail, leaving him to sputter out the few hairs in his mouth. Was this really the guy she was crazy for? Why did it take until after her memories had faded for her to finally work up enough courage to even be alone in public with him for a long period of time?

Perhaps a part of herself still didn't trust him, even though he was the most trustworthy person. "Is that real hair?" she questions as Steve falls in line beside her, still playing with the beard. "Maybe," he chides. He resists the urge to scratch at his face, he didn't like the tingling sensation it created. "So how's it staying together?"

"Eyelash glue," he simply shrugs causing her to laugh at his quick answer. "It was thrown together quickly. Priya had to make do with what she could,"

Her stomach lurched at the name drop. Of course, she was the one to come up with this distracting disguise - if that's what it was even called. This disguise just made him look like a hippie version of himself with darker hair. Perhaps no one could notice him, but if she could somewhat recognize him so could other people. The disguise was definitely a lot more intricate than his normal disguise which was just a hat and some glasses. If he could fool people like that, maybe she didn't need to worry about people recognize him. Hopefully, no one would put two and two together.

_**~ BOOK TWO: AGE OF ULTRON ~**_

**THE SCREAMS IN the air can** be heard from at least a mile away. Usually, blood-curdling screams were accompanied by an apparent danger whenever Steve was near, but staring up at the roller coaster was a nice change of pace. He can't help but steal a sideways glance at Quinn as she nervously chews on her bottom lip while looking up at the ride. Her body was rigid, her arms tucked tightly across her chest and her eyes remained glued on the booming structure. It looked to be as if she was frozen in time, looking up at the roller coaster as if she was looking at her death. And to her, it definitely felt that way.

She didn't want to burst his bubble but she was not a fan of amusement parks. She never was, especially with the statistics of fatal injuries that occur on these rides each year. She hears Steve chuckle from beside her as he places both of his hands on his hips. "The Cyclone? I'm surprised this thing is still here," he states, gaining Quinn's ever-growing fearful attention as her brows furrow with confusion.

"Wait, you rode on this before?" she questions in an attempt to clarify. The roller coaster whizzes by them, causing their hair to blow with the wind that was kicked up. She instantly feels nauseated. He had never seen her so squeamish.

"Yeah, back when I was a teenager," he answers honestly, watching her head shake back and forth adamantly. "What a better reason not to go on it," she banters as she turns on her heel to leave the area.

"It'll be fun," his voice is nothing short of singsong which irks her for a moment as if he was taunting her. "I'm not even going in a hundred feet of that thing," she exclaims, her brows furrowing uneasily as she gazes upon Steve. He seemed to finally be relishing in how timid she was. "Please?" he pouts, something she's not used to seeing. She rolls her eyes. "That thing is almost a hundred years old,"

Steve's lips purse as he stares blankly at her after the statement. She wants to slap herself. The comment was made in poor taste. "I'll pretend like you didn't just say that," he mumbles, making her smile. Only he could be kind enough to dismiss her words. She tries her best to flicker her eyes someplace other than his eyes which held a sense of pleading. Another roller coaster car trudges past them, the screams were dizzying to her. She could already feel her stomach becoming more upset than usual.

Absentmindedly, her gaze rests upon him, their blue eyes connecting with one another. She lets out an audible scoff as she sees him slightly stick out his bottom lip. "I won't make you do it if you don't want to. I know it looks scary,"

"Are you calling me a chicken?"

"Only if the shoe fits," he tempts with a smile. It was almost as if he had known her too well. She was never one to back down from a challenge, her competitive nature wouldn't let her. She closes the space between them, the rattling in her chest ceases as she steps on her tiptoes to try to be eye to eye with him. "We're going on it," she stubbornly states. "And we're riding the first car just to notch up the stakes,"

"Stakes?" he questions. "What are we betting?"

"If I win and don't hurl on this, we don't go on any rides and you have to win me a big prize no matter the amount of money you put into it,"

"And if I win?"

"What do you want?" she tempts closing the gap between them even more until they were mere inches apart, she could feel his breath on her. Her heart thumped wildly but she was managing to keep her cool. His eyes became hooded as if he was intoxicated with a want for her. Something she didn't know she possessed on him. "Quinn," his plea was no louder than a whisper, if a roller coaster car of screaming people had gone by at that moment she wouldn't have been able to hear her name. A pool of heat puddled in his core at the closeness.

An ever-present smirk growing on her face as she leads him towards the line for the roller coaster. It was apparent what he wanted and the wager had been set. It didn't matter if she won or lost, she was still getting something she wanted. As they waited in line Quinn could feel her nerves start to stand on edge as they inched closer and closer to the ride. She felt uneasy yet calm at the same time. Calm because her closeness with Steve reminded her that he wouldn't put her in harm's way but uneasy because she wasn't a fan of being strapped into a metal car hurtling down steep slopes at eighty miles an hour.

She nervously wiped her sweaty palms against her shirt as she approached the front of the line, staring widely at the front of the roller coaster as people dismounted from the previous ride. "Bet's off..." she whispers quietly under her breath. If only Steve had heard it.

Instead, she was ushered through the gate towards the roller coaster car, knees trembling, hands shaking unsteadily as she approaches the small cart. She doesn't feel safe, not even with Steve's hand slipping to the small of her back, beckoning her to join him in the cart. As she slides in next to Steve her hands cling on to the bar that sits across their lap for dear life.

Absentmindedly, she presses herself against Steve wanting his closeness to protect her. He can't help but chuckle as her eyes widen at the track in front of them. They hadn't even left and she was ready to jump off. "Relax, I'm not going to let anything happen to you," Steve reassures her as she grips on to the bar tighter, her knuckles turning white. "How? If we fall at eighty miles an hour, how are you going to rescue us?"

"I-I don't know but you're starting to make me nervous," Steve admits.

Quinn's stomach plummets to the ground once she feels the car jolt forward, lifting them up to the first drop. Her mind was rushing a mile a minute. "I can't believe you talked me into this!"

"Hey, we have a bet. Just think about the biggest prize you can imagine,"

"Yeah, I will if I live!" Quinn's voice quivers with anxiety.

"You've gotta relax. Try doing something that'll make you relax,"

Quinn's eyes screw shut as she forces herself to not look down at the people below. If she did she was going to have a heart attack. "I-I have a nervous song. I butcher it each time I sing it. Will you make fun of me?" she chirps, her eyes staying glued shut.

"You can sing anything you want. You can sing off-key as much as you want and I won't care," he coaxes, placing his arm around her shoulders and pulling her in closer than what she already was. If anyone saw the two at the moment it would look almost as if Quinn were sitting on top of him. However, she seemed to relax at the closeness, her arms still shook but less violently as she grabbed on to the bar.

"_Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away,_" Quinn's voice was trembling as she sang off-key to herself. She couldn't believe she was embarrassing herself in front of Steve. However, at the moment the anxiety of embarrassing herself wasn't as high as the fact she was on a rollercoaster. "_Now it looks as though they're here to stay. Oh, I believe in yesterday,_"

She doesn't have time to finish her song as the car teeters over the edge of the top hill before plunging down, causing Quinn's sense to go into full overdrive. She can't help but scream at the top of her lungs as she latches on to the bar in front of her with an iron grip, Steve's hands retract from her to wave in the air as if he were having fun.

Quinn's lips can't help but let obscenities escape from her mouth, they burned on the tip of her tongue like poison. Her stomach churns as they hit their last hill before pulling into a rest. Steve's sweet laughter fills the air as the car comes to hold, whereas Quinn's chest heaves from hyperventilating the whole time. She can't believe she got conned into going on a rollercoaster, one that was built almost a hundred years ago nonetheless.

It takes her mind a moment to collect itself as they exit the ride. Her spine shivers from the adrenaline that was starting to kick in. She appeared to be in some sort of shock. "Y-you w-w-win," she stutters out as she trudges alongside him, earning a soft chuckle. "Let's discuss who won over some food,"

Quinn's stomach growls in agreement even though she feels the strong urge to vomit. The Cyclone wasn't like other rollercoasters, it was tamer but she still didn't like the feeling of not being in control and not being on the ground. She's able to snag a table that isn't being shared by anyone, thankfully.

Although, she does have to wipe a few crumbs off with her sleeve before Steve places himself across from her. He slides the checkered plate over to her, letting the smell of warm cheese fries and a chili dog waft in her face. Despite not wanting to eat she can't help but dig into the fatty food - something she had grown accustomed to ever since coming to New York. "So," Quinn begins after stuffing her face with a bite of chili dog. "How's the tower?"

Steve's face drains of any fun or happiness that he had been displaying this whole time. Instead, his eyes held an almost bored look as if he had suddenly become filled with disgust. "Tiresome," he answers before stuffing fries into his mouth. Quinn perks a brow up, hoping he'd elaborate. "I feel like I'm under a microscope. I know S.H.I.E.L.D. kept an eye on me but they did it discreetly. What's happening now feels like I'm being babied,"

"Babied?"

"Well, you know Priya," she nods with a slight eye roll to show her displeasure with her. "She's glued to my side. Telling me what to do, what I can't do,"

"Seemed like you two were pretty chummy the other day," she observes, wiping her mouth clear of cheese. Steve shrugs. "She's nice but it's all a little suffocating,"

He looks up to see Quinn's eyes befuddled at his statement. It did seem contradicting. "This life you know? Working for S.H.I.E.L.D. I was able to do the things I wanted to do, see who I wanted to see without a hassle. Now I have to fill out a twenty-page form if I want to see you for just a couple hours,"

"Hey I feel ya," she agrees. "I'd like to see you whenever I can without calling Priya five days in advance and seeing if the visit is approved,"

"You have to do that?"

Quinn nods earning a disgusted scoff from him. "It was in the NDA I was forced to sign,"

"I'll talk to Tony about this. It's ridiculous,"

Quinn taps on the table as silence falls between the two. Steve hastily goes back to eating his food as she stares off towards the end of the dock, watching the lull of waves dip down and crash upwards. The sound of it was almost completely covered up by the sounds of screams of enjoyment and thrill. She never got to go to the beach, being in D.C. it had been quite some time since she's seen the ocean.

Perhaps it was a good thing, for as peaceful and docile it seemed at the time - the beautiful golden sunset with streaks of pinks and purples shining through could turn deadly in a moment's notice. Much like how the months prior treated her. As few slight memories began to seep in she noted that some were good but most were primarily bad, centrally focusing on the torture she underwent while becoming a sleeper agent. It took Steve three times to call her name to gain her attention. As she fluttered her eyes over to him she could see the concern floating to his face. "Sorry, I was just...thinking,"

"About what?"

She presses her lips into a firm line as she narrows her eyes at him. She couldn't blame him for prying information from her but she wasn't used to actually telling someone what was on her mind. Usually, she'd like, but seeing Steve and trusting him, she felt as if she could let every secret go. "What was it like for you before everything happened? Did we ever have fun like this?"

"Well, it's good to know you're having fun and I didn't scare you away," he smirks before clearing his throat and becoming more serious. "To me we had fun. We spent most of the time going over actual educational things -"

"I don't think having a movie marathon about Ghost Buster's is educational," she interjects, remembering the time he had brought up all the movies they had seen. He lets out a chuckle before looking at her once again. The look alone was enough to make heat rush to her cheeks. "You taught me how to have fun and adapt to this time period. You also aren't afraid to express how you feel sometimes. Sure most of the time you're just being stubborn but you're not afraid to get pushy if you have to -"

"I'm _the biggest_ pushover," she corrects him with a smirk. "But thank you for that compliment," her hand immediately stretches out to touch his to convey her emotions. For a moment both of them seem lost on each other, Quinn definitely felt like she could live in this forever and be content. However, Steve pulls his hand away as he rises from his seat, interrupting her daydream. Her eyes litter with confusion as she stares up at him. Had she done something wrong? "Let's go get you that prize,"

_**~ BOOK TWO: AGE OF ULTRON ~**_

**"IT'LL BE FUN, have I ever **steered you wrong before?" Steve jokingly asks as he steps in the back of the line, while Quinn stands timidly with a giant bear wrapped in her grasp - a token from their rigged bet from earlier. Steve had almost thrown the baseball through the stand as he knocked over the milk bottles every single time. She anxiously looks up at the brightly lit Ferris wheel. It was like a beacon with how many lights were on it, although it didn't compare to the other more exhilarating rides. It contrasted perfectly with the vast navy color of the night sky.

"It's slower than anything else here," he urges, watching as she purses her lips. "It's also higher," she mumbles, her voice is riddled with skepticism. She wasn't sure Steve had actually heard her but the eye roll confirms he did. "One more ride and then we can go home,"

Quinn's head lay on top of the stuffed bears head, almost as if she was confessed this, knowing that he was impatient. A soft sigh escapes Steve's lips. "Please,"

"Well, all you had to do was ask," she teases, taking his side in the line, listening to him chuckle. Her anxiety about being up high only grows with each step, however, she isn't dreading it as she had been with the rollercoaster. Something about the Ferris wheel just seemed so docile, like it was just a big friendly giant compared to its terrifying neighbors.

At first, Quinn doesn't think she'd be allowed to take her stuffed animal into the carriage of the Ferris wheel, but Steve somehow manages to stuff it in. He places it across from them on the bench, it actually looked like a third person had joined them in the enclosed carriage. After settling something with the ride operator, something about the conversation seemed completely suspicious, Steve places himself beside Quinn.

As the ride springs to life once again, she can feel her stomach drop. It isn't then until she realizes that she was in very close proximity with Steve, there was absolutely no gap between them as they sat. She also noticed that his arm was perched behind her shoulders, although she shrugged this off nonchalantly. There's a moment of silence between them as she looks out of the open windows to see the park lit up. She swallows a lump in her throat as she looks down at the ground, she absentmindedly tries to inch closer to Steve.

He chuckles at the involuntary movement, catching her attention. She hadn't realized what she had fully done until she sees there is no gap between them once again. She hurriedly moves away, apologizing with a heavy blush resting on her cheeks. "Yeah, this might be a bad time to tell you that I don't like amusement parks," she admits, swiping a piece of hair behind her ear, her eyes find them locked on the ground in front of her. He chuckles quietly making her feel even more embarrassed. She hated feeling like such a child about these kinds of things, especially in front of him. "If you told me I wouldn't have taken you on a date here,"

Quinn's face immediately heats up, her cheeks turn a vibrant red as she looks over to Steve. "A date?" she questions, her voice cracking a little. He nervously starts to chuckle, a tinge of pink coming to his cheeks. "I mean if that's what you want it to be. I didn't mean to phrase it like that. Not saying I wouldn't like to take you on a date, I would love to, I'm just not sure if you'd be ready for a date since the whole Hydra thing," he stops himself from rambling by looking to the ground in front of him, it was his turn to have his face turn a vibrant red. If only he wasn't so bad about talking about this kind of thing. "I'm sorry," he apologizes. "I'm just a little nervous is all, I don't have much practice in talking to beautiful women like yourself,"

Quinn erupts with laughter, making his self-confidence shrink even smaller. He badgers himself, this was a stupid idea, it was stupid for him to even say anything. However, he's thrown off once Quinn slides back to her original spot next to him, she takes his arm and slings it around her shoulders as she leans on to his shoulder. Steve's heart races but he feels relieved, happy that she can return his emotions. He carefully rests his cheek on the top of her head.

"We talk all the time," she clarifies, her voice barely above a whisper. "Well, yeah, but not about romantic stuff," he states, causing her to roll her eyes. It was like he was a twelve year old with a crush. "I don't think much will change," she counters, earning a dazed humming sound from Steve. She can't help but feel all the butterflies in her stomach, they won't stop. She could melt to the ground in a puddle and be happy. She was finally satisfied that she got her feelings out there, and was ecstatic that Steve reciprocated them. "So when we moved Robin in, and they asked if you were seeing anyone and you said no but you had your sights on someone, you were talking about me?"

"Quinn, you're the only woman I've had my sights on since D.C. who else would I be talking about?"

She shrugs as she hums. "Priya,"

"Priya?" he questions, lifting his head from the top of hers. She looks at him confused, thinking she had offended him. She sits up straight, tucking her hair behind her ears nervously. "Well, it wasn't your actions that lead me to believe you liked her. It was hers," she tried to defend herself. He perked a brow up as if he was asking her to continue. "She just touched you flirtatiously, and called you "mister man". She gave me hell about seeing you today. I just thought it was off," she shrugs. She half expects him to be mad but once again he surprises her. "This is good, this is good, I feel it too," he chants as he fidgets in his seat, causing her brows to furrow. "I feel like there's a whisper of...desire,"

Quinn lets out a gagging sound. The way he phrased it sounded off like it was from another time. The phrase made her feel uncomfortable. "New rule: you're never allowed to say that again. But yes it does seem like she may have a slight crush on you,"

"Well you don't have to worry about her," he replies with a smirk while nudging her shoulder playfully. "Oh I'm not," she mumbles under her breath. The carriage of the Ferris wheel jumps and shakes at the abrupt stop, forcing Quinn to hold on to Steve anxiously. She peered down out of the window, looking at all the tiny figures below. It was enough to make her dizzy. She holds her head in her hands to avoid feeling lightheaded as her heart thumped wildly in her chest. She groans. "Why did we stop?" she questions, her voice becoming whiny as the carriage slowly swayed back and forth.

Steve draped his arm around her and held her close, trying to ensure to her that nothing bad was going to happen. "Maybe it was because I gave the operator a fifty to stop at the top," he mumbles out. Quinn shoves herself away from him furiously, before realizing she's dangerously close to the side where she feels as if she could fall over. "Why!" she shouts, sending a glare his way. Steve tries to calm her down, he didn't expect her to get this upset. "Just trust me," he pleads while sticking out his hand for her to take.

Cautiously, she takes it, however, she feels sabotaged by whatever he was up to. He obviously knew she had a fear of heights, why he would suspend her several hundred feet in the air is beyond her. But there's a sense of innocence that lies beneath his calm and assuring voice that leads her to believe he had the best intentions. She huffs out a sigh of agitation as she once again places herself next to him, making sure her shoulders were under the crook of his arm. She groans in uneasiness at first before she hears a familiar shooting sound.

This perks her attention as she looks out of the carriage only to see the busy end of the boardwalk and the endless dark ocean waves. Then a spark of light illuminating the sky in a dazzling pink, another in red, then another in a shimmering crackling white. She can't help but smile to herself. Steve had tipped off the operator to stop at the top to watch the nightly fireworks. For a moment she's dazzled with the lights, and overwhelmed by the loudness of the fireworks. She can feel Steve's grip on her shoulders tighten, then relax as he starts stroking her arm.

"Still mad at being so high in the air?" Steve questions, his breath hot against her ear as he leans over to ask the question over the loud banging sounds. Quinn turns, a half-smile playing on her lips as she nods her head. "Not bad, Rogers," she coos as the brilliant lights reflect off of their faces. She notices that Steve's eyes dart down to her lips for a slight moment, her belly erupts with butterflies once again. She doesn't even think as she dives in, placing her lips against his. She feels like putty against his warm lips as the friction between the two seem to grow with each kiss.

A feeling of want pools in the bottom of her heart. She had been aching for this for so long, she had been waiting for Steve to want her as much as she wanted him. It isn't until the kiss suddenly deepens that Steve hesitantly pulls back, only leaving her with one to two more pecks in the absence of their passionate kiss. "Wow," is all Quinn can mutter out as she pulls her bottom lip between her teeth, bashfully looking away from him. Her mind is racing with a million thoughts all at once, her nerves on fire. He pulls her in closer as they watch the finale of the fireworks.

_**~ BOOK TWO: AGE OF ULTRON ~**_

**"SO THAT WASN'T our first kiss?"** Quinn questions as she walks alongside Steve on the darkened sidewalk. Although it was late, she never felt safer walking through the city with him at her side. There was finally no need to worry. Especially since he was in disguise, if she couldn't recognize him at first no one was bound to. Steve chuckles as he comes to a complete stop at the stoop of her apartment building, shaking his head ever so slightly. He nervously rubs his brow while thinking about their first kiss. How it was what he had been waiting for for a long time, how it was in that moment that he knew he had to do everything in order to protect her, that he was willing to fight for her.

Which only leads to disappointment as he remembers that Hydra had gotten to her just for being close to him. If she had gone with him none of it would've happened, however, who knows what could've happened to her while being in his care. "We kissed the day Hydra got you. You wanted to go back to warn Jo and then you were going to see your mom," his eyes fall to the ground, leaving Quinn with a questioning look on her face. "It's my fault they got to you,"

"We've been over this thousands of times," Quinn scoffs, placing her hand on his cheek to comfort him. "It's both our faults. We weren't careful enough and we had no idea Hydra was in S.H.I.E.L.D.," she offers him a comforting smile to make him feel better. "Stop beating yourself up,"

Steve scoffs in protest before returning her smile. He could at least act as if it were on both of their shoulders but he knew deep down that the Hydra account was on his part more than hers. Yet he knew she would never let him feel as if it rested solely on him. Quinn's eyes dart towards her apartment door then flicker back towards Steve. She knew Robin would have a thousand questions regarding her date and why they've been out so late. She couldn't delay it even further. "I guess this is good night then," she hums to herself dreamily.

If only they didn't have to say goodbye. She felt like a teenager with their first love once again. Steve's brows shoot up as he asks her to wait a moment. She watches him puzzled as he struggles to shrug off his leather jacket. Once it's off and in his hands, he offers it to her. The color from her face drains, her smile no longer holding its usual place, instead, it's replaced by a sorrow frown. "You're leaving?" Her voice threatens to crack as she takes the jacket within her hands.

She had been reminded of this gesture over and over again even with the trauma she received from Hydra. This was all too familiar with her. "Not for too long, hopefully," he tries to ease her with hope. She doesn't buy it, her frown was still settled on her face. He sighs out of frustration, he didn't want the night to end on a bad note. Unexpectedly, Quinn embraces Steve in a tight hug, catching him off guard. It doesn't take too long for him to reciprocate the embrace as his arms wrap around her figure. They hold the hug for a few moments, Quinn deems it because she's trying to remember why this feels all too familiar while Steve just wants to memorize her embrace.

As they break from the hug, Quinn leans up to touch his cheek, pressing her lips against what should have been his flawless cheek but instead she gets a mouthful of itchy hair and a bit of cheek. Steve's eyes widen with the deja vu, as she leans back down, face distraught from the tingling feeling the false bears left on her lips. His fingers gingerly graze where her lips had once been, admiring the warm sensation that it left behind.

"Come back safe," she whispers out to him, her lips pulling into a pout. Steve chuckles at the sight of her. She had always been worrisome over him. It was bound to amplify now. "I promise," he replies. She bids him a wave before stepping up the stoop, Steve's eyes don't leave her from the sidewalk as she fiddles with her keys for the front door.

Once she's finally in she turns and gives him another wave, which he mimics before turning on his heel and walking down the street. His head feels like it's in the clouds but he needed to restrain his excitement, he had a mission to focus on now. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees a familiar car parked on the other side of the street, just a little way down from Quinn's apartment.

As he looks back he can see that her window is just in full view of where the car is at, so is the stoop they had gathered at. Rolling his eyes, he crosses the street. Anger seethed through his veins as he tapped on the tinted window. He couldn't have one peaceful night alone. The sound of the window rolling down caught his attention.

He glares at the pristine figure of Priya, a smug grin on her face. "If you're going to follow me, be more discreet," he hisses out, leaning down to look her eye to eye. Priya hums out a small laugh that irks him. Ever since Quinn said she also noticed Priya's actions towards him we're flirty he's been on edge with her. Especially since he's face to face with her now. "I thought we agreed that you wouldn't get too chummy," she chides.

"No, that was you. I never agreed to anything,"

Priya rolls her eyes as she glares at the apartment building where Quinn had retreated to, a scowl crosses her face. This just means she's going to have to work harder with the impossible woman that Steve happened to fancy. "Headed back to the tower?" she questions, a brow perking up. Steve's lips pull into a frown before resting his eyes on Quinn's apartment. If only he had been invited it, perhaps he wouldn't have run into Priya. He huffs out a sigh of frustration as he places his hands on his hips, it was clear that he was irritated. However, that didn't stop him from rounding the front of the car and sliding in next to Priya. It was just a ride. But to her, it was something much more.

* * *

A/N: Hi. President Slow Burn here. So, you've been waiting 37 frustrating chapters for Steve and Quinn to finally get together to actually see it happen. Pat yourselves on the back if you've made it this far. As Steve always says, "Patience". I heard everyone likes big fluffy pieces every once in a while and I figured in Age of Ultron would be the best time. Don't get used to it because Civil War is going to be coming up in the next few months and without saying too much - we're not gonna see a lot of happy Quinn in that section.

Anyways, thank you so much for the kind reviews, and sticking with the story for this long. It'll be fluffy until the next section, I promise!

Also if you like this fic and want to read more like this one check out my other fic Full Stop. It's about Tony Stark and his new publicist and Tony essentially being the worst boss ever. That story (along with more on the way) directly ties into this one and vice versa because if you think Steve (aka Captain Can't Make The First Move) thought about this date night all on his own pfffft yeah right.


	38. CHAPTER XXXVIII

**CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT**

**( **THE ASSISTANT **)**

**THE APARTMENT WAS surprisingly quiet for** once. No cello music, no neighbors romping around upstairs, no loud voices coming from the hallway. For once there was peace and quiet, the first time since she'd moved to New York. It's ironic really, the busiest city in the world and she could lay in bed in total silence. Only the sound on her breathing and Rudolph's soft snoring could be heard.

She smiles widely to herself, getting giddy from the butterflies that arose in her gut. She felt as if she was on cloud nine with everything that has happened in the past twenty-four hours. Even though the man she had feelings for was out on a mission right now, she didn't seem to have an ounce of worry in her. He was always so careful to come back, even if he had a few scratches on him.

She never believed for one moment in her life that Steve Rogers would actually reciprocate her romantic feelings towards him. How she thought of him constantly, how badly she wanted to be beside him, she finally learned that he was also longing for it as well. She could already see Jo's shit-eating grin spread across her face once she told her the news.

If there was news.

A fleeting thought crosses her mind, thinking whether or not Steve would want anyone to know about what had happened last night. She cringes at her stupidity, she should've asked him last night before she left. She sighs before sinking her fingers into Rudolph's silky fur. His wagging tail thumping against the comforter was the first sound she's heard all morning beside her own thoughts.

She had to tell Jo what had happened last night, it was only fair. She had been rooting for them to get together since the start. As she grips her phone it begins to vibrate against her hand, creating an irritating tingling sensation. She narrows her eyes down at the screen to read the name of the annoying caller.

Stark Industries.

She can practically feel her eyes roll in the back of her head. It was bound to be Priya calling to lecture her about something that she somehow found out about. She debated on even answering the phone. However, the thought of describing their date in full detail to her sounded even more delicious than letting her go to voicemail.

On the fourth ring, she picks up. "Hello," she greets in a sing-song voice, hoping to only run salt in Priya's soon-to-be wounded ego. _"Miss Cruise?"_ An unfamiliar voice beckons her name, catching her off guard. She swallows her large ego to replace with skepticism. "This is,"

_"Hello, Miss Cruise, I'm calling from Stark Industries HR department. I was wondering if you could swing by the building today. We'd like to talk to you about Steve,"_

Quinn's heart flutters in her chest at his name. Worry instantly replaces her carefree high. She instantly shoots out of bed, feet landing firmly on the wooden floor. "Is something wrong?"

Rudolph is quick to follow his owner out of the room as she begins to pace with panic. How stupid was she to think that he couldn't get hurt, or worse. Before the woman can even speak Quinn quickly cuts her off. "I'll - I'll - I'll be down there in a few. I'm on my way!" she shouts over the receiver, quickly ending the call. "Shit!" she curses to herself as she shimmies on a pair of jeans.

She had never been more stressed in her life, she could feel an overwhelming amount of anxiety build up in her chest. He didn't tell her what the mission was - nor could he even if he wanted to. It must've been dangerous, and she merely shrugged it off as just another mission. She's moving as fast as she can as she hurries to get ready, causing Rudolph to yip with excitement.

As she exits her room, she jumps in surprise as she almost bumps into Robin. "Where's the fire?" she questions, as she watches Quinn jog to the bathroom. She only watches the door frame for a moment before Quinn is walking back out, her hands tangling a ponytail holder in her golden hair. Her eyes were filled with panic.

Robin instantly feels worried for her. "Hey, what wrong?" she beckons for Quinn's attention as she passes her once again, plopping herself down on the couch to put her shoes on. "There's an emergency I have to go to at Stark Tower," Quinn informs her, each word falling out like vomit. Robin audibly gasps. "Oh my goodness,"

Quinn bolts up from the couch, haphazardly placing her coat over her thrown together outfit. "Can you, um,"

She can't even think of a coherent sentence as she gnaws at her bottom lip. She swipes her forehead to clear the sweat that was starting to build on her brow. "Can you just watch Rudolph for me, please?" her words bounce off her tongue like fire, as if it's urgent - which it is.

Robin looks between her and the golden retriever for a moment, the stress was now starting to eat at her. "Yeah, totally, go to the tower," Robin ushers her, grabbing ahold of Rudolph collar to calm him (and herself). Quinn lets out an out of breath "thank you" as she makes a beeline for the door.

Even the cool fall air couldn't help her think straight. She had to push her way past people who were gathering at each intersection, as she narrowly dodged traffic. If Steve was in trouble she was going to be there for him.

He had done the same for her just about a month ago. He had been patient and kind and informative on what she had forgotten about their whole friendship. He even stood by her through some setbacks, like her legitimately not knowing him for quite some time and being extremely standoffish with him. All of that didn't mean anything to her now, she cared for him, she couldn't think of a world without him in it. If he got injured and she brushed it off like it was nothing she would feel extremely guilty.

Her legs pumped as fast as they could. The tower was a mere few blocks away. She could see it's tall presence looking over the other buildings. Steve had called it gaudy, she had argued and said it was art. Now it looked like hell on Earth to her.

She bolted up to the doors of the building, pushing through them so fast that it almost hit the other side of the door. She couldn't think of a time where she had run faster, not even in D.C. Of course, she was out of practice from running daily, but this was incomparable to what she did with The Joggernauts. Even faster than the time, she beat Maddox.

Fly-aways strewed from the messy bun she pulled together, it clearly looked sloppy, not even slightly convincing the passerby's who stared at her for panting in the middle of the lobby. Her eyes inspect the lobby for anyone trying to reach out to her, surely they knew who she was by now seeing as Priya had made her sign something.

She wanted to compose herself as she was gaining disapproving looks from businessmen who passed her but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Someone who she cared about was hurt or dead. "Miss Cruise?" A familiar voice calls out to her.

She recognizes it to be the same as the voice on the phone. She clutches on to the right side of her abdomen as it begins to cramp up, slowly turning towards the small woman who had called out for her. She half expected it to be Priya but was relieved to see another woman in a sleek navy dress clutching on to a clipboard.

"Follow me," she instructs her, quickly turning on her heel and leading her away from the lobby. Quinn takes her time in following the pristine woman, gazing upon the architecture inside the building. Though she had been in it before she hadn't paid attention to what was inside.

Nothing but tall glass windows, accompanied by sleek balconies that people could sit on which were all connected by their own individual glass walkway. She couldn't help but admit to herself that Tony had a way with interior design.

The woman waited for Quinn to step on to the elevator, clearing her throat to catch her attention. Sheepishly, Quinn stepped inside with an apologetic smile. Out of her peripheral, she could see a couple of men in tidy suits try to approach the elevator.

She instantly became nervous, as she knew she must've looked like a hot mess. However, they stopped in their tracks once the woman shook her head once. Obeying her, the men milled about awkwardly as Quinn watched them confused while the doors slid shut in front of her. Her gut dropped once she realized she was alone in an elevator with an unknown woman.

She had gotten too close to Steve once again, she began wondering if this was another Hydra attack. They'd be pretty gutsy if they attacked her in Stark Tower but that didn't stop her mind from jumping to conclusions. Her heart hammered inside of her chest, her hands twitched up into fists, sweat was now starting to bead her brow once again.

She kicks herself for being convinced that Steve was hurt and she needed to come to the tower right away. She had been too careless to get caught once again, but this time she wasn't going down without a fight. Cautiously, she follows the woman out of the elevator and down the hallway, taking note of any exits she can make in need of a quick getaway.

"This way," the woman calls out for her, beckoning for her attention as she opens up a glass door to an office. Quinn observes the outside of the small room. There's inscribed writing across the wall: Stark Industries - Personal Assistant. Her eyebrows raise at the title before she follows the woman's lead and enters the office.

Compared to Doctor Woodruff's office, this one seems more neat and tidy with a bit of peaceful feeling to it. She notes the tiny zen garden placed on the desk in front of her. Something she thought she could invest in. "How was your commute over here?" the woman questions, attempting to make small talk as she unlocked her computer. "Not too bad I hope," she chides with a forced smile.

This is the first moment where she actually feels embarrassed by how she looked. One look at her reflection in the glass and she can tell she looks like a hot mess. Her cheeks start to burn with embarrassment as she takes time to fix the bun in her hair, making sure to smooth out the edges. "I was in a bit of a hurry to get over here," she attempts to sheepishly explain as she fixes up her appearance. "Someone said that something happened to Steve -"

"Yes that was me who called you," she declares, affirming Quinn's suspicions. She shuffles through a clutter of paper on the desk in front of her before looking at her once again. Quinn notes that her dark eyes hold some defense, she looked poised like a dragon. "Steve is not in danger or hurt," she sighs out, clasping her hands together in front of her on the desk.

Quinn's mind draws a blank as she narrows her eyes at the woman. She couldn't tell if she should try to escape because she thought this was a Hydra thing or if she should start sobbing that Steve was all right for the time being.

"But on the phone -"

The woman holds up her finger as she interrupts her. "I merely suggested that I wanted to talk to you about Steve. You jumped to the deep end and hung up on me,"

Quinn can feel heat rush to her cheeks. She had always been the worrywart. But how could she blame herself? When she didn't worry she got hurt or someone close to her did. "Sorry," she sheepishly mutters out under her breath. Embarrassment fanned across her face as she tried to look everywhere except for the woman's eyes. The woman, in turn, lets out a sigh as she swipes a stray strand of dark hair behind her ear. "Yes, Priya did mention you tend to do that often,"

Her eyes want to roll at the name. Although her time with the PR rep had been brief she had left a bad taste in her mouth. Frankly, this woman seemed to be doing the same. Perhaps it was what Stark had trained them to do. "So why exactly am I here?" Her voice turns a dramatic sharp tone as her arms cross against her chest.

The woman straightens her posture as she gazes lazily at her. "My name is Asami Swan. I'm Mr. Stark's personal assistant," she introduces herself, sticking her hand out which Quinn firmly shakes. Her brows furrow in confusion. "I thought Pepper Potts was his assistant?" she questions as she retracts her hand.

Asami forces a chuckle out. "Ms. Potts was promoted to the new executive CEO a few years ago. I've been dealing with Mr. Stark since then,"

Quinn nods her head. "I see,"

"Quinn," Asami begins before clamping her mouth shut as if she had just cursed. Her hand immediately presses on her lips as she taps the desk with her pen, looking onto Quinn as if she had messed up. "Is it okay if I call you that?"

Once again Quinn's brows raise at the question. She _had_ messed up. She wasn't formal enough unlike Priya. Although she didn't mind this, it made her feel more comfortable. "Yes," she hums out with a polite smile.

"Quinn, it's been brought to Mr. Stark's attention that you and Captain Rogers are romantically involved,"

She purses her lips at the thought of word getting out about their relationship. Had it really spread like wildfire? Impossible. He was in disguise, he must've told someone. She tilts her head from side to side before answering.

"As of last night, yes. You guys work fast,"

"We tend to be diligent," Asami forces out another chuckle before continuing. "Anyways, I just wanted to go over a few things with you and offer you something in return, if you cooperate,"

This perks her interests. "Things like what?"

"Any details about your roommate, your mother -"

"Okay, that should already be on file. Priya should have it," Quinn interrupts. She hated telling her life story on repeat, it made her feel small and insignificant. Like she was a screw-up.

"Ah, yes, about Priya," Asami chides, leaning forward on her desk to get closer to Quinn. "Captain Rogers has relayed some troubling information to Mr. Stark who relayed it on to me regarding Ms. Khatri. As of today, I will personally be handling the Captain Rogers account,"

Quinn's nose scrunches at the term. Of course, the Avengers were nothing but numbers to businesspeople and the government. "Steve is a person," she hisses out, her lips straining into a frown.

Asami seems nonchalant about her disdain, merely shrugging at it. "We know, that's why we wanted to talk to you," she purrs. Something seemed fishy to her. Even with the transfer from Priya to Asami there still should've been information about her on file, unless someone got rid of them.

Perhaps Priya was a little too jealous since word got out. However, the process of explaining everything seemed painstakingly repetitive. She pinches the bridge of her nose trying to sustain the headache she knew was about to hit her.

"Why?" she asks, more curious than upset. Asami shuffles the pages on her desk once again, perhaps out of nervousness. "Because you're the only civilian that Steve meets with frequently. Everyone else is -"

"A superhero?" Quinn interrupts with a smirk on her face.

"More or less," Asami affirms, returning the smirk. She fiddles with the pen in her hand as she loosely scans over the sheet in front of her. "I do have some information on you. Can you start by saying if this is true or false?"

Quinn leans back in her seat, her posture beginning to relax. This was going a lot better than when she had talked to Priya. "Go ahead," she invites.

"Let's start with your full name, Quinn Louise Cruise, is that correct?" Asami lists off. Quinn's face drains of color from the use of her full name. She had always hated her middle name. She sighs and nods her head, watching Asami scribble down a checkmark next to the first question.

"Born February third, nineteen-eighty-four in Charlotte, North Carolina?"

Another nod.

"Parents are Marianne and Arnold Cruise? One brother Maxwell Cruise. Arnold and Maxwell are deceased?" Asami looks up at Quinn to see her bite down on her lower lip. Of course, deceased relatives had always hit a blunt nerve. It also brought back painful memories to her. "Yeah," she mumbles, trying to push through her feelings of missing her brother and her father.

Asami's face softens as she notices the slight tears that are starting to build up. "My condolences," she whispers out before tapping her pen on the paper nervously again. "Went to school for law enforcement, lived in Washington DC with Jo Kapplin, worked at S.H.I.E.L.D., now you live in Greenwich with Robin Cooke and work at Apple?"

Quinn sighs as she nods her head. Although her memories of everything leading up to this point seemed painful, she hated this and deemed it boring. Asami purses her lips as she looks at the page before making a checkmark next to her employment. "Bit of a downgrade,"

Quinn immediately perks up, her core heats up with annoyance. First, she was tricked (even though it was technically her fault) into coming here, forced to think about her past and go over the information that they already knew was correct, and now Asami was insulting her?

The furrowed brow and frown made Asami place her hands up anxiously by her sides. She didn't mean to offend but she obviously had struck a nerve in her ego. "We'll talk about that in a second," she notes before droning on. "Marianne has moderate Alzheimer's, treating under Dr. Woodruff -"

"I'm sorry but how do you know that?" Quinn cuts her off. Her hands grip the sides on the chair she was in. The hair on her neck is starting to bristle. This all started to seem familiar, almost like Hydra to her. They had known about her mother and her closeness with Steve, that's how they were able to bribe. At least that what some of the captured agents of Hydra explained.

"Mr. Stark did his homework," Asami simply states. Even though she seemed relaxed Quinn could tell that she was starting to widdle on being anxious just by glaring at her. Reading someone's body language was one of the few things that Blair had reminded her to do on a day to day basis and she had.

Quinn tries her best to relax to make Asami seem more comfortable. "I can tell," she mutters out. "So you know basically everything about me but I know nothing about what's going on. This couldn't have been a phone call?"

"Frankly, Quinn," Asami starts as she shuffles another pile of paperwork in front of her. This time instead of it being looseleaf paper it was in a neat manilla folder with a black stamp near the top. Something about it reeked of being top secret. A little spark of hope lights up inside her. Was this something for her? Was this all the information she needed to know about Steve's missions that he wouldn't tell her about?

She tries to suppress an eager smile but the feeling turns darker as she realizes that this could be the very same folder that Steve had received to join the Avengers. Fighting aliens and Hydra was not her forte, in fact, she had deemed herself as the least qualified person for the Avengers. "I wanted to speak with you because Mr. Stark has an opportunity for you," Asami continues as she opens up the folder.

"An opportunity?" Quinn chuckles darkly while shaking her head. "I don't want to join the Avengers,"

Asami's eyes drift off to the corner of the room, as they narrow at her statement. "Uh, you're not qualified for the Avengers, no," she sheepishly admits, causing Quinn to be confused yet embarrassed at the same time. "But, you are certainly more qualified to work somewhere other than Apple,"

She rolls her eyes. Of course, she was more qualified than Apple but jobs in New York appeared and vanished in a blink of an eye. It would take a miracle to get a good job here. "Oh?" she manages to say, her interest fleeing her as quickly as it appeared.

"Like the Federal Bureau of Investigations,"

Her breathing stops at the drop of the name. The FBI? Was she really qualified for that? She shakes the thought, of course, she wasn't. If she wasn't qualified to be an Avenger then she most certainly wasn't qualified to be a special agent. Quinn lets out a nervous chuckle.

"I'm sorry, I'm not following,"

"I'm sure you're very aware of Mr. Stark's and Captain Rogers's role in protecting this world,"

Quinn's gaze turned from curious pessimist to disinterested know-it-all in a heartbeat. She tries her best not to be facetious, only nodding her head to answer. "Have you heard of the Iron Legion?"

"Steve's mentioned it. I don't know the full details," she answers.

"That's okay, all you need to know is that it's helping the world out and it was developed by Mr. Stark," Asami yips excitedly, causing Quinn's brow to perk up at the sudden outburst of energy. "Because of this, Mr. Stark has some heavy pull in the government. Which is very beneficial in your case,"

"Why's that?"

"We'd like to offer you a position in the Federal Bureau of Investigations,"

This was a cruel joke. There was no way this was actually happening to her. People worked hard to become a special agent and they're telling her that it can be gifted to her on a silver platter? She lets out a wry chuckle. "You can't do that -"

"I can't but I can assure you Mr. Stark can," Asami interrupts. Confusion floods her veins. Of course, this was a wonderful opportunity, something she couldn't pass up but something just didn't settle right with her. This was all happening so fast. Everything. Her and Steve getting together and now she was being offered a once in a lifetime job opportunity? This couldn't be real.

"I'm confused. Why would he want to help me?" Quinn asks, certain that there's a catch involved somewhere in this. Even though she didn't personally know Tony Stark she knew he wasn't the most generous person, up until a few years ago he was manufacturing weapons and sleeping well knowing he was.

"You're important to Captain Rogers, he's beneficial to the team. A happy captain means a happy team," Asami answers causing Quinn to scoff. Of course, it all revolved around what benefitted Steve and the Avengers. Stark wanted to take advantage of their relationship in a way.

"I don't need his charity work," she states grumpily, feeling insulted. Her leg bounces up and down before she decides to get up. If being with Steve meant doing these little sit-downs every time he was away, then this is not going to work out. Especially if she looked like a charity case. As she reaches for the door, Asami's voice lures her attention.

"Are you sure? This is what you went to school for and you'd be making a lot more money than what you do now. Perhaps triple,"

Triple? She wasn't making much now but if she had made triple she'd be making more than what she did at S.H.I.E.L.D. She wouldn't need a roommate, she could finally pay off Doctor Woodruff. Her mother is the first thing that pops into her mind.

Thinking about how happy she'd be out if the city and in the care of the most experienced hands and potentially getting a grasp on her disease. Her mind was ablaze as she thought if the opportunity this could provide her but she hated thinking about how she got it. Begrudgingly, she turns to look at Asami over her shoulder. "I'll think about it,"

"Mr. Stark hates waiting," she presses, causing Quinn to let out a sigh of frustration.

"Fine, I'll take it," she huffs out. She could swear she could hear Asami laugh at her desperation. "Didn't really have to pull your arm. I'll alert Mr. Stark of your decision," she teases.

"Are we done?" she spits out, glaring at the assistant. "For now," Asami affirms, not even bothering to look at her as she waved her away. "Have a good day," she calls out just as Quinn slams the door shut. She wants to shout at the top of her lungs in frustration but also out of joy. She was torn. She was delighted to potentially have a job in her field but hated how it was just handed to her.

She tries to look on the bright side of things, maybe Stark could only get his foot in the door for her and she'd have to work her way up. Thinking like this seemed to alleviate some weight from her chest. Only some. Her hands trembled as she stepped into the elevator. It isn't until the doors close that she realizes she looks like a complete slob.

She was thankful that Steve actually wasn't there, although she'd love to see his reaction to her looking like this. He had seen her with her face bloated and beaten and peppered with bruises, this look wouldn't matter to him. If anything it'd cause him to ask why she looked like she had just woken up. A wave of happiness burrows its way into her chest as she thought about him, how relieved she was going to be when he came home.

She had to tell him about the news, in fact, she was dying to tell him about it. She wasn't quite used to preferential treatment, nor did she think she could ever get used to it. Things like this were never handed to her. It made her feel wrong. Her feelings of being conflicted over this were starting to take over.

The sudden ding of the elevator brings her to her senses. She tries to straighten her posture to assure whoever was coming in that she wasn't on a rollercoaster of emotions. To her dismay, she unhappy with whom she sees step in. Her lips tug down into a scowl as Priya places herself beside her, binder in hand. Of course, Priya wasn't happy to see Quinn as well, she had every right to. Quinn was quite rude to her, but she couldn't help herself.

"Have you heard from him?" Priya questions as the elevator starts to descend. At first, Quinn is confused as to why she's even speaking to her. Was she not mad about getting kicked off of handling Steve? Her brow perks up in confusion but she doesn't let her see it. "No," she replies in a monotone voice. "Really?" Priya sneers, followed by a dry chuckle. "That's strange, we talked for a while last night. All nonsense really,"

Quinn can't help but roll her eyes. Of course, she knew she was trying to goad her for a reaction but she didn't want to give her the satisfaction. Her arms defensively across her chest. "How can you talk to him? He's on a mission," her question is directed at the rep but her eyes stay trained on her reflection in the elevator door - a sure sign that says she's not worth her time.

"Perks of working for Stark Industries," Priya giggles mockingly. The game that Priya was playing seemed childish, which was spot on thanks to her snobby nature. She just wished it could've been better, just as easy as Stark getting his foot in the door for her for the FBI. After a few silent moments in what Quinn would seem hell, the elevator doors open to the lobby.

"Well, if you talk to him again tell him I said hi and that I can't wait for him to come home. I have something planned for his return," she informs her, a coy smirk appearing on her face. If Priya wanted to play dirty she could play dirty. Instead, Priya gives her a condescending, empathetic look of disdain. "Haven't you heard?"

Quinn shakes her head, which earns a smug smirk from Priya and a tilt of her head. "People saw you and him together last night. This is now a safety hazard for him and yourself. It's part of the agreement you signed,"

Quinn could feel her cheeks heat up out of anger. Her knuckles turned white as she clenched her fists together in her pocket. There was no way she was going to get the best of her. Instead of wanting to throttle her, she returns the smug smirk. "Oh, the thing I was forced to sign and never got a copy of? Listen, I know you're bitter about being kicked off his account,"

Priya's brows raise. It looks like she was caught off guard. Just where she had wanted her. Flustered, she begins to speak up, "I didn't -"

"But maybe it's better this way," Quinn states faking an empathetic voice to her, all the while placing her hand on her shoulder. "You're pretty Priya, I'm sure you could find someone who is actually interested in you," Priya scoffs at her, making it obvious that she had something personal against her. To spite her even further, she lets go of her shoulder, waving at her as the elevator doors slide shut.

She's able to walk out of the building with her head held high. Today she accomplished getting rid of her Priya-Problem and has made an impact on Tony Stark enough to where he can get her an actual job. Triumphantly, Quinn walks towards the hospital to visit her mother, maybe a visit with her could bring her back to the real world.


	39. CHAPTER XXXIX

**CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE **

**( **FRANK SHAW - HYPER CONSPIRACY THEORIST **)**

**IT'S BEEN THREE whole days since** Steve had left for his mission. That meant three whole days of Quinn worrying for him and feeling anxious about telling him about the job offer. Everything was going by too fast for her. She moved to New York, she was seeing _the_ Captain America, she had been offered her dream job.

A year ago none of this even seemed possible, she would've been delusional if she thought otherwise. Yet, Quinn being her normal self always found a way to make herself worry without an end in sight. It's what she had been trained to do, ever since she was a kid. She always looked at the downside of anything positive that happened to her. Now she was putting herself through hell, she could easily pull her hair from how stressed she was.

She presses her whole face into the couch, letting out a muffled shout of frustration. This caused Rudolph to approach the couch, tilting his head at the action. Rudolph wasn't the only one in the apartment showing concern for her. Robin stood a few feet away, watching her sulk into the couch cushions.

This had been an interesting transition to go from fighting with her girlfriend non-stop to being roommates with Captain America's girlfriend, who sighed heavily when something good happened to her. She places herself next to Quinn on the couch, moving her feet away and on to her lap in the process.

"Hey Quinn," she calls out to her roommate in a singsong voice. She gently taps her calf as she calls out her name once again, this time more curious than the last. In response, Quinn merely huffs out another large sigh, placing her head up just slightly so she could get a sideways glimpse at Robin. Robin gives her an encouraging smile, only to watch her head plop back down in it's resting position once again.

A groan escapes her lips. Robin bites down on her lower lip, even Rudolph was concerned. She notes that Quinn isn't always apt to talk about her feelings and would rather mope about than talk. A part of her wonders if she's always been like this, even when she lived with Jo in D.C. Another sigh escapes Quinn's lips, forcing Robin to roll her eyes.

"You know if you keep sighing like that we're going to run out of oxygen," Robin attempts at teasing her roommate, only to receive silence in return. "Do you maybe want to talk about what's going on?"

"Nothing's going on," Quinn responds with hostility dripping from her voice. Robin raises her brows at the statement. Of course, something was going on, or else she wouldn't have been so defensive with saying no. She also wouldn't be lounging around like a couch potato.

She purses her lips as she continues to look on to Quinn, she was determined to make her crack. She knew it wasn't good for people to hold in stress. Without notice, Robin stands up, causing Rudolph to ignore his owner and follow. Quinn rolls her eyes. She could finally have some peace and quiet. However, that could be her biggest downfall. Leaving her to think about her thoughts was the last thing she wanted to do. She always had a tendency to overthink the simplest things.

Thankfully, she hears Robin's footsteps approaching from the hallway along with Rudolph's paws clicking against the wood floor. Quinn peeks out of the strands of hairs that had fallen in front of her face to look at the cellist sitting in a chair across from the couch.

Her hand was digging around her large black purse, obviously, she was looking for something specific. She throws her a questioning look as she props herself up on her elbow, flipping her hair out of her face. "I have this thing that my nephew gave me a while ago," Robin states, halfway sticking her head in her purse to get a better view. "It helped somewhat in my relationship with Cynthia," she adds causing Quinn to scoff at her failed relationship.

A few moments later, Robin lets out a triumphant, "Ah-ha!", as she pulls out what appears to be a stick with orange and yellow feathers haphazardly glued to the ends. She places it in Quinn's hands, letting glitter fall into her palms. Quinn's lips purse as she sits up trying to examine it even further. Whatever it was had Robin jazzed up.

"What is this?" she asks, twirling it around in her hands like a drumstick. "It's called the feelings stick. When you hold it you have the right to freely speak your feelings without being judged,"

Quinn drops the stick as if it were a bomb, causing glitter to fly on to the floor. Robin purses her lips as she glares at Quinn, who was rubbing off whatever residue was on her hands. "Here I'll go first," Robin speaks up, grabbing the stick from the ground. She looks directly at Quinn when she admits, "I feel concerned for you because you've holed yourself up and won't stop sighing."

In turn, she sticks out the rod towards Quinn in an offering. Quinn merely looks at it for a moment, studying it, before taking it back in her hands. "I feel like this is a dumb exercise in which it probably ruined your relationship with Cynthia because this isn't a healthy alternative to therapy. This is for children,"

Robin quickly grabs the stick out of her hands with an abrupt gasp. She tries to not be offended but she can't help if she looks the part with her mouth agape and hurt filled eyes. "I feel like you're just saying hurtful things to make yourself feel better," she admits, her tone sounding a bit hostile. Soon it becomes a fight for the stick and who's going to say the last word. Quinn grabs the stick back. "I feel like this stick is stupid,"

"I feel like you need to apologize because my six-year-old nephew made this and Goddamnit I'm going to use it as much as I please," Robin shouts as she clutches on to the stick defensively. Quinn's mouth - which was open to object anything she had to throw her way - instantly shuts. The heat of embarrassment floods her cheeks as she feels instant regret.

Hesitantly she reaches for the stick, enclosing her fingers around it once Robin is willing to give it up. "I feel like I'm sorry," she mumbles out. "I took it too far," her eyes drift towards the floor before she stands up with the stick still in her hand. "It's just I've been through a lot this past week. It feels like I'm in a hold trying to dig myself out of this unrepayable debt I owe to everyone -"

"Who?"

Quinn shrugs her shoulders as she looks out of the window. "Steve, Doctor Woodruff, you, Tony Stark,"

"Why do you feel the need that you're in an unrepayable debt to Tony Stark?"

"Because I went to the tower a couple of days ago, as you know. I met with his assistant and they offered me a chance to get a job with the FBI," she mutters the last part out in hopes that Robin wouldn't be able to make it out. Unfortunately, she does. "Well, that's good, right? You're actually going to be making use of your degree. You'll probably be paid a lot more than Apple,"

"Yeah, that's not the issue I have with it," she states as she rounds the corner of the couch, flopping herself down on the plush cushions. "It's just, I've never had anything handed to me so easily. I've always had to work for it -"

"Well, you don't officially have the job quite yet," Robin interrupts. "And if it's anything like being a police officer, you will have to work for it. My brother was put through hell at the academy but that made him a good cop. I'm pretty sure if you're going to be an FBI agent you'll have to go through the same thing he went through. Probably much worse," she bites down on her thumb once she sees Quinn's eyes widen at the word "worse".

"Like harder. More strict. Not worse." she tries to cover herself. "Anyways, let's talk about the Steve part of this equation. Do you think you got this job because you're -"

"Seeing him?" Quinn finishes, with a small but reluctant smile. "Yeah, I don't know how long that's going to last,"

"What?" Robin shouts as Quinn gets up and heads into the kitchen. She's quick to follow. "I thought you liked him?"

"I do," Quinn confirms as she takes a bottle of beer out of the fridge, popping off the top off on the counter. "But thanks to the NDA I signed I can't continue seeing him on a regular basis. It's kind of hard to have a relationship with someone who lives in the same city as you who you can only see once a month,"

"What does that have to do with your relationship?"

"Safety violation. Although I'm not sure if they're concerned with my safety or his. I'm going to go with the latter of the two."

Robin swipes her phone from her back pocket, causing Quinn to roll her eyes. She wanted to have a deep intellectual conversation about her feelings yet she can't even look at her the entire time. "I'm sorry, that just doesn't sound right," Robin hums out as she continues to look at her phone screen.

Quinn takes this moment to take a swig of the beer in her hand. Usually, she would never drink like this but stressful times calls for quick resolutions to make her forget. "Yeah, that's what I thought," Robin states as her gaze rips away from her phone to her roommate. "The agreement says nothing about that,"

"How do you know?" Quinn asks, her eyes narrowing at the cellist. Robin adjusts her glasses on the brim of her nose as she looks down at the phone once again. "I took pictures of the agreement so I could read over them if I ever came across a problem," she informs her as she passes the phone over to her. "This seems like a problem,"

Her fingers swipe through each picture on her roommate's phone, trying to find keywords that stuck out to her about any relationship with an Avenger. Each swipe made her nerves feel electric as she comes to the conclusion that she had been duped.

For a brief moment, her mind runs and thinks she must've signed a different one but this seemed to be the same amount of pages that she had to sign off on and the one that she signed versus the one that Robin signed had no difference in wording on the cover. It was just standard, generic, legal talk about the Avenger.

Her swipes become more feverish until she realizes she's at the end. Nothing about it said anything about seeing an Avenger romantically, or seeing them multiple times in a row, nothing about disguises. Priya had been stringing her and Steve along for no reason. She growls in frustration as she shoves the phone back in Robin's hands, eagerly taking a sip of her beer.

"It's a good thing she doesn't work with Steve anymore," she exclaims. A hesitant thought pulls forward from the back of her mind. She knew she wasn't working with him when she told her the information about her not seeing Steve and yet she believed her. Perhaps she just needed to stop being naïve when it came to her. At the moment she felt stuck.

She could rag on Priya to Steve but she didn't want to come off as jealous and hot-headed. Absentmindedly seething, she accidentally drops the beer bottle on to the kitchen counter, causing whatever carbonation in it to fizz up and overflow with frothy bubbles. She yelps at the wet sensation that dribbles on her hand as Robin quickly grabs the roll of paper towel and begins sopping up the mess.

"You need a better way to relieve your stress," Robin scoffs, while also throwing an under the breath comment about how sticky the counter is going to be and how it'll attract ants. The clinging of dog-tags rings throughout the apartment, catching Quinn's attention. Her sight soon became fixated on the golden retriever sitting in the doorway of the kitchen, wagging his tail back and forth. He had obviously come to investigate their shenanigans.

"Maybe you could try to learn the cello," Robin suggests, looking over her shoulder to see Quinn bending down to pet her dog. An audible scoff comes from her, as she scratches behind Rudolph's ears. "No, I got a better way,"

_**~ BOOK TWO: AGE OF ULTRON ~**_

**THE SUNLIGHT BASKED across her exposed** face as she trudges down the street, Rudolph in hand, leading the way to their usual park. Granted, she didn't know how long she could take being out in this weather as it was starting to become more cold with each passing day.

She'd have to suffice with just walking up and down the street with Rudolph in the wintertime, as there was no way she was walking several busy blocks in Greenwich just to get to his favorite park. It wasn't like D.C. where she could easily drive to the Washington Monument's park and take him on a long walk there to clear her mind. They had to brave a twenty-minute walk to a much smaller park that was closed on the weekends.

People in New York always seemed more uppity than any other place she's lived in. Her mind can't help but wander to jogging with The Joggernauts back in D.C. How she tortured herself every day by getting up at the crack of dawn just because she felt motivated by competition to beat Maddox every day. By the time she would go into work her legs would be sore. She can't even begin to imagine how sore they'd be if she started running now, although she was aching to get back in the habit of it (despite Steve's protests of her getting mugged jogging early in the morning).

A smile splays across her lips as she thinks of what a match Steve versus Maddox would be. The self-proclaimed fastest man in D.C., versus the literal fastest man in D.C. Just the look of defeat on Maddox's face after the inevitable lose would be glorious. "What're you smiling about?" a voice questions from beside her, startling her out of her daydream.

She turns to her right only to have her day completely ruined by the sight of the mouse-faced Frank Shaw. She gives Rudolph a look of betrayal as he never alerted her of the new guest by their side, while also trying to restrain herself from rolling her eyes. "Nothing." she simply states as she moves forward at the crosswalk. Of course, he falls in step beside her. As if she hadn't had a bad day already. "Is that your natural resting face then? We're you trained to do that during your time as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent?"

"I'll tell you again, just like the other million times I've told you, I wasn't a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent," she states, her voice was hostile.

"You still didn't answer my question," he continues as he crosses the street with her. His undoubted stubbornness was enough to make her nerves stand on end. "No." she simply states, her voice growing more on edge by the moment. "Where you headed?" he asks. A genuine question. Not a conspiracy theory question. This was somewhat of a change in pace.

"Where are _you_ headed?" she turns the question back around on him, eagerly waiting to see if his response is anywhere near the park she was going to. "I asked you first," he tries to tease but ends up getting an eye roll in return as Quinn slows to a stop with Rudolph. She narrows her eyes at him as she inspects him, he offers a sheepish smile. "I'm taking my dog to Washington Square -"

"Washington Square, yeah, that's exactly where I'm headed too," he interrupts. She couldn't tell if he was joking or not. Her lips purse and her eyes narrow at the mouse-faced man. She gives him an eye roll before continuing her steady pace towards the park. For a moment they walk together in silence. She knew she was giving off an uncomfortable vibe, anyone could see it except for Frank who was oblivious, yet harmless.

Although she had pushed him off to the weird side of the spectrum in her mind she knew he wasn't dangerous. He looked as if she could snap him in half. "What's your dog's name?" he asks, finally breaking the silence between the two. "Rudolph," she begrudgingly answers.

"Like the reindeer or as in Hess?"

"Holy shit, Frank," Quinn hisses as she slows her pace down immensely, throwing daggers with the glare she was giving him. "Why would I name my dog after a Nazi?"

"I don't know, you worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. who was being controlled by Hydra which stems from the Nazi party. I just thought maybe someone there gave you the idea to name him Rudolph -"

"Absolutely not. My roommate named him after the reindeer," she informs him while throwing him an incredulous look. "Sorry," he mumbles out, placing his hands in his pockets. She silently scoffs. Frank was one to not know the boundaries of what people were supposed to talk about. He was what one would call useless. However, he was still human and she could see that he was shy and not usually a people's person.

She had to give him credit for coming out of his shell and actually speaking with her, it must be hard. "What are you doing out here?" she asks, trying to make a decent conversation out of his company instead of just walking beside him in silence. "Oh, I just got my haircut,"

"And your barber is out here in Greenwich?"

"Small world?"

"Big city, Frank," she counters, perking up a suspicious brow. "I had an interview," he changes his story making her groan internally. Her eyes shift across his outfit, a slight frown appearing on her lips. "Wearing that?" she judges.

"It's at a bar,"

"I thought you had a job? You were a writer at the Daily Bugle,"

Frank hisses at the mention of the media outlet. She could tell it was still an open wound. Yet, that's the job that made him question everything in life, that's what made him this pushy. He was great at it.

"Freelance. Not permanent. Jameson said there was supposed to be budget cuts and I got cut," he informs her, his voice dropping low. She hums at the statement. It wasn't like he made that much anyway, she remembered seeing his last paycheck in order to see how well he was going to be for paying rent on time. She's glad she made her decision on Robin.

"I'm hoping to make amends with them though. Prove I'm a strong reporter," he continues after a moment.

"Makes sense," Quinn says under her breath, shielding her face within the corner of her jacket as a gust of wind blows their way. "So what's got you all grumpy?" he asks, causing her to throw him another glare his way. "I'm sorry, grumpier than usual," he specifies.

She lets out a frustrated sigh as she comes to a stop at the crosswalk. Only a block more and she'd be at the park. She could practically see it's big white arch from here. "Personal matters," she answers in a low tone.

"Like what? Job problems? Family problems? Love problems?" he begins to list. It's a little too on the nose for her liking. A chill runs up her spine at how accurate his guesses were. Yet, she still remains silent to his guesses, she certainly didn't want to expose more personal information to him than she already had. "I don't want to talk about it," she huffs out as she begins to cross the street.

"You can't just bottle this stuff up, you gotta talk to someone -" he begins to pet only for Quinn to lash out. "I have. I already discussed everything with my roommate and I don't feel like reliving the experience!"

Frank takes a couple of steps away from her due to the outburst. If she didn't have Rudolph with her she'd just turn the other way and ignore him but of course, she decided to walk him to relieve stress.  
However, talking to the hyper conspiracy theorist made her blood pressure rise significantly.

Yes, he was ballsy enough to get out of his comfort zone and talk to her but she didn't know him, she didn't want to know him, all his actions were genuinely starting to irk her. After a moment of walking together in complete silence, she thought she had lost him but a quick side glance assured her that he was still there, just silently walking beside her with his hands in his pockets and a disgruntled look on his face like he had done something wrong.

He had.

He had pushed her boundaries. However, this pathetic display of guilt that was spreading wildly across his face made her feel like she was to blame. "Were you guessing that because you have all of those problems?" she questions, the road of the fountain not diminishing the sound of her voice. There was nothing but silence but his figure still lingered in her peripheral. "Have you finally lost your voice -"

"I don't have!" he spits out, out of the blue, catching her off guard. She jumps at the sudden loudness of his voice. He immediately apologizes for his tone before continuing. "I don't have a lot of friends,"

She refrains herself from saying, "clearly", and instead chooses to stop walking and just listen to him altogether. "And I know you think I'm weird and I'm a stranger but I've been where you are," he declares.

"I'm there with you right now, and I know that when I talk about it I feel better and I feel even better when people comfort me even when they can't help me. Just to explain that I'm going through something that I can't help makes me feel better because it makes me feel like I'm not a terrible person -"

"What do you want me to say? Yes to all three?" she interrupts, furrowing her brows in frustration, her arms spread apart from her body as if she were asking him, "what do you want from me?".

"They're just real-world problems, Frank, everyone has them and they deal with them in their own way. But if it makes you feel better I'll talk to you about some stuff. If that's not too much to ask for,"

Frank takes a moment to look at his surroundings, finally deciding on sitting on the edge of the fountain that was located in the center of the park. "Certainly not,"

To Rudolph's dismay, Quinn perches herself next to him on the side of the fountain. The smooth surface of the concrete was cool under her. A shiver overtakes her for a moment before she tries to even think of what she could talk about.

If she revealed she was having money or family problems she'd have to give away most of her privacy and she definitely didn't want to see him following her to the hospital to see her mother. Seeing Steve was an issue. Steve was much larger than him, and could easily overtake him if he became too clingy but she didn't want to reveal his identity. To reveal Steve's identity meant opening up to a thousand more conspiracy theory questions. "So there's this guy -"

Frank gasps at the revelation. "What's his name?" he chides as if this were regular girl talk between them. It felt weird about how normal this felt. "It's not important," she dismisses with a hiss. "We just started seeing each other,"

"Well that's good," he states. "What's the problem?"

"Well, there's a lot of things in the way of being with him. It's a complicated mess. His job is dangerous, I don't know if he'll come home sometimes. Then there's this girl, who's trying to prevent me from seeing him -"

"Are you dating James Bond? Who is this guy?" he interrupts with an incredulous look on his face. Almost as if he were trying to piece the puzzle together. A light pink hue crosses her cheeks. It seems that describing Steve in this way did make him look like a spy when it was the exact opposite.

Instead of staying out of the spotlight like good spies, everyone knew who Steve was. There was no better way to describe her situation though without sounding like a Bond girl.

"You're problem sounds similar to mine," he tries to justify, bumping his shoulder against hers. "Yeah, I'm seeing this pretty girl - er well, trying to," he clarifies, causing Quinn to gawk at him. He blushes bashfully as he tells her that her name is Yuri.

"Her dad isn't a big fan of me. Doesn't want me around," he continues. Quinn can't blame the poor woman's father, she wouldn't be caught dead with him as an in-law. "So what do you do, to keep your relationship alive?"

Frank merely peers over to her with a sly smirk before looking out and above at all of the skyscrapers that loomed overhead. "I don't listen. So if you truly cared about this man, you wouldn't listen either,"

Quinn gnaws on her bottom lip. She hated going against any set rule of any kind, even the most pretentious ones that Priya came up with. Rules were established for a reason. She just can't help but feel like the rules for her and Steve seemed a little too fictitious than what they really were supposed to be.

She steals a quick glance at the conspiracy theorist. He was kind and genuine when he wasn't being so eccentric and excitable, asking a million questions she couldn't answer. He was just as confused as she was, if not more, but he still pursued what he thought was right. Her hand clamps over his shoulder, catching him off guard as he jumps in his seat. "Thank you,'

_**~ BOOK TWO: AGE OF ULTRON ~**_

**STEVE'S EYES ADJUST to the brightness** of his phone that burned as the screen blinked on. He was nervous as he checked the time for a fourth time during the taxi ride. He had gotten home from the mission early yesterday. Unfortunately, they had struck out on their leads for Hydra and needed to regroup themselves before heading out for another round. That's when he got her message. _"Dinner?"_

To be fair, she hadn't known when he was flying in. It had been at least five days since he had left. The quick response probably caught her off guard. But he hadn't wanted to go out after everything that happened.

Yesterday, was just a debriefing day for everyone, a time to wind down and get working on where the next lead would take them. Now he was in the back of a taxi with a tie-on that was borrowed from Tony. He had tied it tight enough to choke him.

Perhaps it was the nerves that were getting to him about seeing Quinn once again. After all, they were in the puppy-love state. He used to never feel anxious around her, he had at certain points when she had fallen asleep on him, or when he had attempted to kiss her, but mainly when she reciprocated his feelings like the kiss at the mall, the kiss on the Ferris wheel, that's when he started to feel nervous.

Now that their feelings were out on the table he felt vulnerable. Sure he had been with the occasional girl back when he was touring the country to sell bonds, and Peggy stole his heart all those years ago, but this was new.

This wasn't one-sided. This wasn't a coy game of cat and mouse-like he had played before he went in the ice. This was two people going in blind, and quite frankly he was a tad paranoid.

He feels his heart stop altogether when he feels the cab pull over to the side of the road to let him out at the destination. As he steps out, his gaze drifts towards the top of the building, its brilliant lights casting against the buildings surrounding it. To his left, he can still see the eyesore of a building that he lives in. It was like the tower was always watching over him no matter where he went.

He gathers enough urge to step inside to only find a lobby with a receptionist and four elevators. Over the top of the elevators was a list of what was on each floor. Bistro Three-Two-Two was on the thirty-second floor. How convenient. Once he steps inside a few more people gather in with him, all of which, he notes, are less dressed than him.

His hands are clammy as he realizes that his suit may be a bit overkill now. He was going to make a fool of himself in front of his date. Once at the restaurant, he scans the dining area for any signs of Quinn as he waits at the host stand. Unfortunately, he has no luck, and he's too polite to decline the host's invitation to help him find his date.

She directs him to a curved booth where he can see Quinn sitting at the table, looking off into the distance at the skyline of skyscrapers out of the windows. For the second time tonight, he feels as if his heart stops. Just seeing how casual she looked while waiting for him, how her hair was put up in a delicate updo, her makeup done, and her dress that was dark that had small, shimmery, stones that made her look like the night sky. For once, he was at a loss of words.

That's when her eyes caught sight of him and her crimson lips turned into a smile. A nervous sweat begins to build upon the back of his neck. He could cringe at how awkward he felt because of his nerves. As he approaches the table, she stands up to greet him, brown jacket clutched in her hands.

"It's good to see you," she hums out as he finally meets her at the table. He offers her an awkward smile as he takes the jacket out of her hands. "You don't think I'm overdressed?" he questions in a joking manner. Quinn scrunches up her face while looking around the restaurant and humming. "I think you'll fit in just fine, besides I'm wearing a dress," she tries to assure him, tugging on the material at the hem.

"It's not formal. It's a night-on-the-town dress," he counters causing her brows to raise in surprise at how stubborn he was being. A smirk appeared on her lips as she scanned him from head to toe.

"Is the man who dresses like an American flag feeling insecure about what he's wearing in front of people?"

A small chuckle escapes from his lips. She feels accomplished that she could finally break him in to make him feel a little more comfortable. Besides, it's not like she minded seeing him in a suit coat - it did seem to take her mind off of his biceps that hid beneath the dark material.

"It's nice to actually be here with you and not in some disguise," she sheepishly admits. Having Asami around was a nice change of pace, she was definitely helping them progress in their relationship. Or maybe she wasn't. Maybe she didn't care if she was targeted or not. "It's nice not to have a beard. It got itchy," he absentmindedly scratches the side of his face as he remembers the tingling sensation the piece had.

Quinn chuckles at the action, she was about to bring it to his attention when their server came over to take their drink orders. Steve's brows raise when she orders a glass of expensive champagne for herself. Of course, he'd like to join in but tasting disgusting water didn't benefit him like it did her.

They sit in silence for a moment. It was somewhat awkward. Like they didn't know how to actually talk to each other after their last encounter. Steve clears his throat to try to take the edge off of himself. "So this is... nice," Steve comments, absentmindedly looking around at the dim-lit room, and the twinkling lights of the city outside the window.

"Expect this to become a regular thing. Nothing less," Quinn teases, causing Steve's brows to rise once again. He didn't like dressing up all the time. "I'm kidding," she reassures him, sliding her hand across the table to give him a slight squeeze for comfort.

The little gesture sends his heart rate through the roof though he tries his best to refrain showing any of his excitement towards the touch. "I'd have to sell my kidneys to eat here every time we had a date," she adds, retracting her hand to look at the menu - though she had already looked at it ahead of time. She had to look up a few of the words from the menu as even she didn't know exactly what it was.

"So this is a date?" Steve asks, catching her attention. "Can I just ask why here?"

"It's my birthday," she states without missing a beat, her eyes never leaving the menu. The statement is enough to make Steve choke on his water in embarrassment. "Are you seri-"

"No, I'm not. Bad joke, I guess," she cuts him off with a shrug. She did love seeing his reaction. "We're here to celebrate I guess,"

"For what?" he questions. Something that Quinn had been dreading for the past several days. Not that the news wasn't exciting, it was just bound to strike him as suspicious. Even to her, it was suspicious but beggars can't be choosers. "I may or may not have an opportunity to get a new job," she admits, taking a long sip of her wine after answering. Steve smiles at her accomplishment. She takes in its beauty while it lasts. "That's great! Where at?"

Another dreaded question. "The Federal Bureau of Investigations," she answers quickly. Although his smile remained she notices it diminishes in size as he processes her words and figures out who she was possibly getting a job with. "So when did this happen?" he asks while taking a sip of his water.

Quinn nervously scratches the back of her neck as she tries to recount everything that happened. "Uh, a few days ago." she stammers. Their conversation stops as the server comes and drops off two salads for the couple, they each throw him a fake smile. As the server leaves, they distract themselves with the food, their smiles fading.

Quinn knew that he would be suspicious which made her feel anxious. Steve was just overall confused, she had never wanted to put herself in harm's way in fear that she may lose her life and leave her mother alone, this was a different side to her.

"You never said you were going to get a job with the FBI," Steve breaks the silence once again. His voice was riddled with confusion. She would've absolutely told him that she'd be looking to go into her field, she would've even asked him for help.

"That's because I didn't know I had an opportunity to," she answers, causing him to perk a brow up in confusion as he munched on a bite of lettuce. "While you were gone, I got a call from Asami Swan. Tony Stark has offered to stick a leg out and help me out with pursuing a career in my field,"

Steve rolls his eyes at the mention of Tony's name. Of course, he had to meddle with his personal life even more than what was already happening. This action was enough to send him over the edge with Tony. He didn't want to see Quinn get hurt. Or worse. She was already taking that risk by seeing him, he didn't want her to risk herself every day when he wasn't around.

The fork rattles on the plate as he tosses it down out of frustration that was caused by his Tony-induced headache. "Can't you just be a beat cop? And what does Tony have to do with any of this? Tony -"

"Calm down," Quinn defends herself, once again placing her hand on top of his she could feel his hands tightening as they clenched together to keep calm. His blue eyes were obviously hurt as he looked up at her. She tries to give him a reassuring smile. "It's not like I'm in a position to say no to an opportunity like this. It's a better income, it's in my field, it's -"

"Dangerous." he counters.

Frustrated, Quinn retracts her hand from his as if his were burning. Her eyes filled with disdain as she looked on to him. "And what you do isn't?" her voice is incredulous as she spits out the words. Flustered, Steve looks to his plate and then back to her. "That's different," he tries to justify himself.

Quinn lets out a humorless chuckle before shaking her head. "How? You get to stick your neck out to determine the gate of the world while I just sit by and sell Apple products? I have a right to do just as much good as you do to protect this country,"

The words are like a slap in his face. It was as if he was staring into a mirror to the past. He could remember a time where he had been rejected multiple times just to prove that he was worthy enough to serve his country. He knew what it was like to have people prevent him from doing the right thing or to make him feel foolish for wanting to do the right thing.

As he goes to speak up the sever comes to the table once again to take their orders. He can't help but look at Quinn as she lists off what she wanted, he could see the distress and pain hidden behind her eyes. He could tell that she was truly passionate about the opportunity to actually help people, it's what she's always wanted to do. But he knew Tony.

Although Quinn and Tony had a lot in common personality-wise, Quinn had always been the more sincere and genuine person - the one to make sure everyone was all right before checking to see if she was okay. Tony wasn't that person.

It wasn't the opportunity that Steve was upset about, it was the intentions behind it. A couple more moments of silence pass as the sever went away. Quinn's gaze rested on the city lights outside while Steve was on her. He lets out a sigh before speaking up, "I know Tony,"

The sound of his voice snaps Quinn's attention from the outside to him. "He can be genuine and want to help out the world and better it and save it, but he's a wild card and a businessman before anything,"

Quinn lets out a cold chuckle. "So you're saying this is a con? I mean it could be, he doesn't even know me,"

"He knows of you," Steve corrects as he throws her a concerned look. "I'm saying it's a gamble. You are smart and capable of working with them but I'd keep an eye out,"

Steve lets out another sigh as he anxiously taps the table with his fingers."But you're right, you have no less right to protect this place than I do. Just be careful," he earns her. A small smirk appears on her face before she slides into the middle of the booth to be closer to him. Steve mimics her motions, closing the distance between them.

"I promise,"

Quinn's lips catch his briefly, as he smiles and melts into the kiss. This is what he had been waiting forever since he returned from his mission, it was what he would think about when he had a spare moment on the mission as well. Just being with Quinn and being happy.

Several white flashes catch both of their attention, sending Quinn reeling back unexpectedly while hissing. Her hand covers her eyes as more white flashes flicker between the two. The restaurant appeared to get louder as well, as she could hear various questions being asked but she didn't know what it was in regards to.

As her eyes open, she's surprised to see a flock of people standing at the side of their table, cameras in hand, flashing them with their brilliant light each time a picture was taken. Her mind can only scream one word. Paparazzi?

Puzzled and dazed by the lights she can't even see Steve to copy what he was doing, all she can do is reach out beside her to find his hand. Her grip is tight once she latches on to it, he also squeezes her hand reassuringly. A familiar gasp rings to her ears out of the hysteria of questions being asked. Quinn's eyes open and adjust to the figure right in front of her table. At first, he's blurry but once she actually gets a good look at him her eyes widen. Her hands become clammy at the sight of him

He gasps once again while holding a camera in his hands. "No way!"

* * *

~A/N~

Yay! So you guys finally get to meet Frank. He is honestly my favorite character out of this whole series because of how eccentric and paranoid he is.

P.S. Happy Valentine's Day!

P.S.S. (and a slight edit) Sam Smith's new song 'To Die For' is peak Quinn/Steve


	40. CHAPTER XL

**CHAPTER FORTY**

**( **PAPARAZZI **)**

**"NO WAY!" HIS voice is more** familiar than any of the other shouting voices. Quinn's eyes widen as she takes in his figure, her hands becoming sweaty and her mouth going dry. There was no way she could talk her way out of this. Of course, she was looking into the wide, dark eyes of none other than Frank Shaw.

Frank Shaw, the crazy conspiracy theorist that thought they were friends - the man who she had just confided her love life to not more than a day ago - was standing in front of her table with a camera in hand along with other members of the paparazzi.

She almost forgets where she is until Steve's grip on her brings her back to reality. She looks over to him to see him shielding his eyes and then back to Frank, who had greeted her with a flash of his camera. This was enough to send her flying over the edge. "You're a paparazzi?!" Quinn shouts up at him, her brows furrowing in anger. "You're dating Steve Rogers?!" he counters back, a wide smile on his face, clearly giddy from just being in close proximity with Steve. "You know him?!" Steve questions her as he shouts over the loud voices of the paparazzi clamoring to get his attention.

Quinn's lips purse as she looks down from Frank's gaze and shakes her head in denial. She wished she didn't know him. "We have to go!" Quinn shouts in Steve's ear. It's a miracle that he can hear her voice over the sound of the paparazzi assaulting them with questions. Steve just nods his head once, before pulling on her hand and tugging them out of the booth.

Polite as he can be, Steve excuses himself away from any of the paparazzi blocking their path. They part like the Red Sea, flocking away from Steve as he manages to get up from the table. It isn't until there's another flash directly in her face that Quinn is very aware that she's been seen by Frank with Steve.

She reels back to look over her shoulder to find Frank, keeping up with the other photographers as they make their way up towards the front of the restaurant. Of course, Steve was still going to pay but that didn't mean Quinn was going to stick around.

"Who is that guy?" Steve questions again as they reach the host stand. Quinn rolls her eyes at the question before looking back to Frank, who was lost in the sea of reporters. "I'll explain later," she says in his ear so he can hear. He nods once as he pulls out his wallet to give the host some money to cover their bill. While he was paying Quinn was out on a mission. She wanted blood for her ruined date.

She pushes her way through the crowd of photographers to find Frank standing in the back, typing something out on his phone. Her vision goes red as she realizes that he could potentially be texting more paparazzi her whereabouts. Her hand latches on to his arm, his gaze catches her.

At first, he has a smile on his face as he calls out her name, but it quickly dissipates as she begins dragging him through the crowd. "Where are we going!" he shouts from the middle of the crowd. "Out," she hisses back.

She gives Steve a small pat on his back to alert him that she's caught her prize and is ready to leave. He apologizes to the host once again before heading to the elevator where they ride down with Frank in absolute silence.

Frank can feel Quinn's anger radiating off of her, he didn't want to say anything that would upset her even further. He already knew he was in shit. His eyes connect with Steve's over Quinn's head. He tries to give him a wide smile of admiration as Steve nods in response to it. Even he was getting uncomfortable by his presence. Whoever he was had Quinn very upset. His fingers laced through Quinn's, giving her a squeeze to let her know everything would be just fine but she seemed unresponsive.

Quinn was in a state of pure, unadulterated, rage that she was keeping bottled up. As the elevator doors slid open, she stormed out in front of the two men, who were left with confusion riddled on their faces as they followed her out onto the busy sidewalk. New York at night was beautiful but it was also hell to get some peace and quiet. Especially since there were probably dozens of paparazzi headed towards the restaurant at the moment.

She quickly ducked into an alley, where the other two followed her until she abruptly stopped by a trash can to look around for a moment. "Honey, what are you doing?" Steve questions as she begins taking off her shoes and throwing them angrily on the ground. "Checking to see if there are any cops," she simply states. His brow perks up in question. "Why?"

"Because I'm going to kill him!" she yells as she lunges at Frank. Frank lets out a high pitched squeal as he staggers backward to get away from her, only to see Steve latch on to her waist to hold her back. "Okay, that's enough," he states, struggling to keep her still and away from the paparazzi. He manages to hold her back and place his hand on her shoulder, letting her calm down.

"Who is he?" he questions before quickly turning around to the paparazzo. "Who are you?" he questions, a little more defensively towards the unfamiliar face. He puts himself between Quinn and him just in case something were to happen between either of them. "This is Frank, the hyper conspiracy theorist I was talking to you about," Quinn answers exasperatedly, placing her hands in her hips, swaying from side to side in an attempt to calm herself down.

Steve's mouth makes an, "Oh" shape before the silence is overtaken by Frank's wildly irritating voice. "You told him about me?" he asks Quinn, who was now starting to gather her shoes. Steve gives her a confused look before Frank speaks up again. "Wow, Captain America knows about me. This is so cool. I'm a really big fan." he states, holding out his hand for him to shake.

Steve's lips purse into a frown as he nods his head and shakes his hand, Quinn coming by his side in a matter of seconds. He wraps his arm around her waist just in case she tried to assault him once again, he could restrain her. "Frank, what are you even doing here?" she asks frustration filling her voice as her gaze rests upon the conspiracy theorist.

"Oh I was tipped off, a woman said there'd be an Avenger at this restaurant," he answers whole-heartedly. Tipped off? She hadn't told anyone where they were going except for Steve. Quinn and Steve share a glance with each other. There was only one person they could think of who would go as far as to sabotage their date. "What'd she look like?" she tries to delve further for an explanation.

Frank nervously taps the side of his camera while sucking in a hissing breath of air. "Oh, I don't know. I got a call from a private number," he answers causing Quinn to roll her eyes. "I thought it was fake but I'm not in a position to deny any chance I can get at making money. Turns out she alerted every newspaper and magazine and blog she could. Photos are probably worthless now," he merely shrugs off.

Quinn perks up after hearing this. "And being worthless I think you should probably delete them since you did take them without our permission," she chides, trying to convince him. She couldn't afford to be the talk of the town while starting a new job. "Sorry, Quinn, no can do -"

"You little -" she attempts to leap forward and throttle his little neck but Steve prevents it from happening."Hey!" he shouts at Quinn in warning that she needed to calm down before speaking or doing anything.

He turns back towards Frank as Quinn turns the opposite way, trying to walk off her frustration. "Listen, Mr. Shaw, we really need those photos to not go anywhere. We're supposed to be seeing each other in "secret" for now and if those pictures leak then we can't have a normal date night," Steve attempts to explain, keeping his cool, unlike Quinn.

Frank bites down on his bottom lip, fiddling with his camera before looking back up at Steve. "I'll delete them -"

"Great, thanks -" Steve attempts to say before Frank cuts him off. "On one condition,"

Steve merely blinks at the new demand for the picture to be deleted. He merely hums as he tries to disguise his frustration. "And that is?" he asks. "I get to interview you," he demands, causing Steve's brows to raise. "Ha!" Quinn humorlessly chuckles as she begins to make her way back towards the two. She tries to grab on to Steve's hand to lead him out of the alley. Nothing was worse than having an "interview" with Frank.

"Please!" Frank begs, clutching on to Steve's arm. "I just got let go from the Bugle and if I can get an interview with you I can potentially get my job back," he pleads. The sob story is enough to get Quinn to roll her eyes but Steve stops mid-step and looks at Frank with kind eyes.

"The Bugle, huh?" he starts, causing Quinn to sigh in a desperate attempt to tell him it's time to go. "You got let go? Why?" he questions rapidly. "F-freelance writer," Frank stammers as he realizes just how big Captain America really is being this close. "I was hoping to have a permanent position but I guess there were some budget cuts,"

It's too late to consider this date still thriving as Steve begins to chuckle at Frank's story. She knew that he was a sucker for sob stories, it's probably why he liked her. She wanted to slap Frank for using the sob card on Steve. "Well, that's Jameson for you," Steve simply states. "You got yourself a deal, but we have to go where I won't be recognized,"

Quinn lets out a loud groan if frustration as she crosses her arms and glares at Frank. "Worst. Date. Ever." she grounds out between her clenched teeth.  
"Maddox," Steve simply calls out, not even turning around to look at her outraged reaction. "Second worst date ever," she quickly corrects herself.

Frank's lips twitch up into a lopsided smile at Steve. "I know just the place to go,"

_**~ BOOK TWO: AGE OF ULTRON ~**_

**"WOW," IS THE only polite word** that can escape Quinn's lips as she gazes at the small diner. The cracks in the glass and the broken blinds were enough to deter anyone away yet she could still see a few people gathered inside. Frank had taken them across town, to the belly of Harlem, just to get an interview with Steve.

She knew the consequences of dating Steve had hidden dangers but she never thought it would come out so fast. A nervous pit started to coil within her stomach. Her heart jumps inside her chest as she feels a warm fabric cover her shoulder. Steve gives her an apologetic look as she turns to see who her assaulter is. She tosses him a confused look as she sees him shrugging off his suit coat, and untying his tie and tossing it in the back of Frank's car.

Her hands latch on to the fabric that was tossed around her shoulders. A raggedy and worn out deep green shirt rested upon them. One sniff to it was enough to make her want to gag. The pungent smell was enough to burn her eyes as well. Was she supposed to wear this? "What happened to this?" she questions as she holds it out just by her index finger and thumb as if it were toxic.

Frank looks over the hood of his car to see what she was talking about and shrugs his shoulders. "I accidentally got gas on it,"

"So I'm going to be flammable while wearing this?" she asks, her tone sounding accusatory. "You don't have to wear it," Frank simply states as he rounds the front of his car to get her near the couple.

"Why do you even have this?" her tone is riddled with judgment as she sniffs it once more, her nose crunching at the putrid smell. "I don't know, just toss it back," Frank says as he rips the cotton material out of her hands.

She gets that it was supposed to disguise her and help her lay low thanks to the abundance of paparazzi that were bound to follow them but she would rather face them than wear the shirt. Steve hands her his leather jacket, something that comforted her but would also help mask her identity a little.

She couldn't help but notice that he had unbuttoned the top of his dress shirt and had rolled up his sleeves. Although it wasn't a technical disguise, he did look different. He looked normal to her, for sure, but thankfully the paparazzi wouldn't really be on the lookout for Captain America without a suit coat on.

She can't help but notice the thin material of the shirt and how it somewhat conceal his biceps but she could still definitely make them out. For some reason this was more appealing to her than just seeing him in that grey shirt she liked that actually exposed the muscles. She has to shake her head to clear her thoughts and distract herself away from Steve as she had been staring at him for quite some time. It had started to get somewhat embarrassing. A light hue comes to her cheeks as she hears him chuckle before ushering her to follow Frank inside the diner.

The diner's florescent lights were too dim to even read what was on the specials menu but it appeared that Frank had already known what it was. This must be a usual spot for him. Of course, he could always head downtown for a nice place to drink coffee and work but cabs were expensive and this was close to home. Frank seated them in a small corner booth, away from any other patrons in the diner just in case they recognized Steve.

Not that Quinn had any faith anyone would recognize him. Most of the patrons were old or either inebriated. A chill ran up Quinn's spine as she realized that the ball of nerves resting in her stomach were still ablaze from the sudden sense of uneasiness she was getting. "Can we start?" she asks anxiously looking outside to the almost barren street, which held one solo streetlight that people seemed to avoid. "The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can leave,"

"Relax, you're safe here," Frank coaxes her as he begins to take out his phone. "I live a couple of blocks from here, it's not so bad,"

Just as he was trying to upsell the neighborhood Quinn looked outside to see an old man, obviously homeless, vomit on the side of the street and just continue walking away like he didn't do it. He was obviously on something as he appeared to be yammering to himself since no one else was on the street. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up from how alert she was just becoming of how dangerous the neighborhood was. All she can do is nod while letting out an anxious sigh.

Steve's hand coils around hers as a sign of steadiness and ease he was trying to bring her as Frank rattled off his usual introduction on the recorder of his phone. A squeeze from Steve was enough assurance to make her somewhat relax, she knew he wouldn't purposely put her in danger and if she was in danger, he'd be there for her.

"So Steve," Frank's voice drags her attention back towards his mouse face. "I'm just going to get right into the hard-hitting questions. Do you think there could be another possible attack with aliens in New York?"

"In New York?" Steve reiterates. His mind runs blank for a moment as he tries to remember the events of New York and how ill-prepared they were. A slight shake of his head takes his mind off it and back to the actual question. "I'm not sure. But we are taking extreme precautions with Tony Stark creating the Iron Legion. If any threats do come back they're our first line of defense and we'll be there to help as well,"

"How do you become an Avenger?"

Steve huffs out a frustrated breath of air from his lungs. He wasn't quite sure of how the Avengers actually formed. He knew he was selected by Fury a few months after coming out of the ice. That was a dark moment in his life. Where all he could focus on was what had happened in the past. He never looked to the future. He didn't want a future with anyone, team, friends, a lover. Until now.

"I'm not sure. The initiative was picked up by Nick Fury, the head of S.H.I.E.L.D but after his passing, the Avengers initiative was taken in by Tony Stark," Steve shrugs. "Originally, we were handpicked by Fury as a group of extraordinary individuals. We haven't picked anyone else to be a part of the Avengers since the program was adopted by Stark."

"Do you think he's looking for new people to join? I mean you do say extraordinary individuals but you have Natasha Romanoff and Blair Norris who are just a couple of spies,"

"Natasha and Blair are more than just a couple of spies. They're the best of the best and that's what you have to be to get into the Avengers," Steve defends, his voice sounding a little hostile.

Frank continues to write his reactions on a small notepad to further help develop his story when it came down to writing it. He wanted to give Jameson every little detail. "Do you think that Tony Stark could potentially groom people into being an Avenger?"

Steve's eyes narrow at the man, confused by his choice of words. "Groom? You mean train?" he clarifies, causing Quinn to snort. Of course, Frank would use that word. "Yes," he simply answers, watching Steve's shoulder roll up and down. "Well, I don't see why not but it's not in the works at the moment but who's to say it won't happen in the future. The more people who want to protect the planet the better,"

"Do you think there could potentially be more super-soldiers out there like you?" Frank questions while tapping his chin with his pen. Steve humorlessly chuckles at the bike question. "If there were we'd know about them, but, as the history books state Doctor Erskine's formula was lost when we were attacked by Hydra,"

"The same day you were transformed, right?"

Quinn could see Steve's jaw clench at the mention of his past. Even she didn't want to delve into as she could tell it was too painful for him. "Yes," his tone is cold as he answers but Frank doesn't seem to notice as he continues on to his next question.

"Is it true that the Stark's contain a vile of your blood so that they can make duplicates of you when you die?"

"What?" Steve hisses out, moderately confused and concerned by the question. Quinn smirks at how outlandish the question is. Finally, she was able to show someone what she had to go through every time she ran into him. "N-no. Not to my knowledge they don't. Where did you hear this?" Steve questions, his brows furrowing as he narrowed his eyes at him.

"A forum on the internet," Frank states, writing down notes on the notepad. "Were you really trapped in ice for seventy years or are you lying and you jumped out of the plane before it went off and you somehow found the hollow earth entrance and the beings inside granted you demi-god like life?"

Steve's fingers tap the table in annoyance as he looks onto the reporter. There were pictures plastered all over about him being trapped in the ice with him actually frozen inside the ice. Steve's brain tries to wrap around the logistics of the question, although it made his headache with a terrible a pain. Why would he leave his whole life behind like that?

"Quinn," Steve mumbles out in a groan as he caresses his head, looking away from Frank. "Yeah, I know, I got this," she coaxes him while placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Frank, are these questions really necessary to whatever you're going to put in your article? Maybe we could get back on topic about the Avengers instead of his past," she attempts to persuade the conspiracy theorist, although his eyes remained hollow and blank as she finished her statement. It was like she had done something wrong by suggesting they actually tackle real questions instead of these fake ones.

"Okay, yeah, sure," he mumbles out before clearing his throat, skipping in his mind all the questions he had about the theories on Captain America. "This one is kind of recent, have you ever been approached by a man with magic hands?"

"Frank-" Quinn warns but is quickly cut off by him.

"N-no. Seriously. This isn't just a conspiracy question. This is real. We've had several people call in reports of this,"

Quinn and Steve share a look between each other like they had just found out crucial information. "Loki?" Quinn whispers to Steve only for him to shake his head. "According to Thor, he's dead. This isn't Loki."

"Then who is he?"

"He calls himself the Taskmaster," Frank jumps in, pulling both of their attentions towards him. "They say his only motive is to destroy the Avengers. No one knows what you guys did to him but he hates you guys. I heard he's making an army to overthrow you,"

Quinn's eyes widen at the revelation and then they instinctively wander over to Steve who appears to be glaring at the reporter, like he's trying to calculate his next move. "Have you ever seen him before?" he asks Frank.

"Uh, no but there's been a couple of reports on him, no word from the police, a lot of talk through the grapevine. It's how I heard it -"

"Ah so like another one of your conspiracy theories," Quinn interrupts with a wide shit-eating grin - one that read _"I know you're full of shit"_. Frank's brows furrow at the statement. "No, Quinn, this guy is real. And he's dangerous, from what I understand he's making an army -"

"Okay, well, until you have physical evidence of him like a picture or a letter from him stating that he actually hates the Avengers and wants them dead, then this is nothing but an old wives tale," she says in a condescending tone while looking at her phone and scowling. It was later than what she had anticipated. "Now if you excuse me, I have somewhere important to be tomorrow morning and I need to get some rest," she bids while scooting her way out of the booth and waving at Frank for a split second.

"Quinn, you've gotta believe me!" he desperately calls out to her, only to see her walking towards the door. "Captain America?" he looks to Steve, who is now standing up to follow his date, for approval but only finds him pursing his lips. "She's got a point, kid. People are distrustful and you can't take news at face value. There's got to be some sort of evidence to make a story. That's why there are no reports of the Stark's carrying around viles of my blood," Steve turns on his heel and begins to follow Quinn out of the door.

They're not alone outside for two seconds before Frank bursts through the door behind them. "How do you plan on getting home?" he asks them as he approaches his car. Quinn lets out a soft scoff as she sees him dip his head in the back door and retrieve their belongings. "We'll call a cab, don't worry about us," Steve interjects before Quinn can even say anything.

"It was good to meet you, Frank," Steve charms the reporter by shaking his hand once again in an attempt to say farewell. "It was nice to meet you, Captain America," Frank smiles like a giddy child up at Steve while shaking his hand. Steve has to clear his throat after a moment as Frank was not letting go of his hand. Embarrassed, Frank drops it like it was poisonous. "And the pictures?" Steve questions before leaving to join Quinn's side. "Deleted sir!" Frank shouts back at him, giving him a small salute before getting in his car.

Steve's hand snakes its way across the small of Quinn's back, making her shiver at the sensation. His hand grips tightly on to her waist, holding her closer to him, making her painfully aware of how much her body ached for his touch that whole time. Steve chuckles as he makes his way with her to the side of the street, holding up his hand for a cab. "You know I really don't see what you mean about him. He doesn't ask invading questions at all," Steve teases causing Quinn to scoff and roll her eyes. "Shut up,"

**_~ BOOK TWO: AGE OF ULTRON ~_**

**THE RIDE BACK to her apartment** is awkwardly silent. Both of their minds drifted towards Frank's words about a man who calls himself the Taskmaster wanting to destroy the Avengers. However, each of them had separate views on it. Even though Quinn couldn't help but this it was malarky her mind instantly panicked about Steve's safety. Vice versa for Steve.

The dangers of dating him we're coming into effect immediately instead of slowly as she had thought. They both wanted to speak to one another about the man but with another person present, who was a stranger, they both silently deemed it wasn't a good idea to talk about it now.

Steve's hand was still wrapped around Quinn's, perched in the middle between the two who's eyes lingered on the streets outside to avoid each other's gazes. Quinn silently shakes her head to herself. This was Frank who was passing information on to them, she always had to take what he said with a grain of salt.

None of his statements seemed to be true, just rumors and theories. However, it didn't stop her from wondering. But there would more than likely be a police report of this man, and potentially a lookout for him, especially if he was threatening the Avengers. Hell, it'd probably be them sent out on the goose hunt looking for him. Maybe that's what he wanted though.

She clears her head as the cab stops right outside of her apartment stoop, letting the couple he out before taking off, even though Steve had wanted it to linger around for a moment so he didn't have to catch another one. He shakes his head as he listens to Quinn giggle from beside him, a small smirk plays on his lips as she giggles.

As he approaches the top step of the stoop he lingers back, unsure of what to say after their failed date. Would they see each other again? He didn't want to put her in harm's way if this "Taskmaster" was real.

She notices his hesitance and pauses from opening her door. Her hand Absentmindedly cups his cheek, forcing him to look up at her, as he leans into her small hand, a look of defeat on his face. "Do you think what he said was true?" she finally asks, breaking the silence. "About this Taskmaster guy. I don't want you to get hurt -" her emotions were starting to get the best of her.

It was hard letting him go before on his missions but feeling this way towards him made her heartache horribly. "I think it's nonsense talk. A lot of people don't like us," Steve clarifies. "But I'll have Tony look into it. It'd make me feel better knowing you wouldn't be a target while I'm away,"

"I'm sure I'll be a target for someone. Whether it be because of you or because of my job. It's just going to take some getting used to," she attempts to soothe him by rubbing his cheek with her thumb.

He turns his head and plants a small peck to the inside of her palm before trailing his lips up her arm and finally to her burning lips. This was the moment they both had been anticipating over the course of the horrible date night they had had. At first, the kiss is feverish, deep like this was the first time in decades that they had seen each other. It's enough to send electricity running through her veins.

The kiss does become more tender halfway through, it's sweet and lingering but enough to still leave her breathless. Her pulse is racing and she can't help but let out a whine of protest as he pulls away too quickly for her liking. She immediately follows his absence by chasing his lips, moving up to her tiptoes to catch his lips one last time.

His head slants, his hand sliding from her cheek to the back of her head to deepen it even more. Something jolts in him to stop, he breaks away almost immediately once he feels it, leaving both of them panting in the wake. He rests his forehead against hers as he tries to calm his heart rate. "Too fast?" she whispers, her heartbeat drumming in her ears.

Steve lets out a small chuckle before taking a step back and shaking his head to clear his thoughts and tell her that she was okay. It didn't matter what pace they were at he didn't mind. "You have a big day tomorrow, Hun," he smirks. "You need to get some sleep,"

A feverish blush crosses her cheeks as she thinks of the implication of her refusing to sleep and what would most definitely happen. She hadn't really thought about it until now and at this rate, she didn't want to not think about it. However, the absence of Steve's figure leaves her as he drifts back a couple of steps on the stoop. He gives her a boyish smile, one that had the implication that he knew he had her wrapped around his finger. "Good luck tomorrow,"

Quinn merely nods her head in thanks before she shakily takes out her keys and enters the door to the building. A large huff of air escapes her lungs as she tries to wrap her mind around what had just happened. She was lovestruck now, wholeheartedly.

* * *

~A/N~

First and foremost, Quinn said (ง'̀-'́)ง these hands are rated E for everyone. Also, she has a thing for arms apparently.

I'm sure you've recognized the name Taskmaster as the new villain for Black Widow's new movie. Which is great, I personally think Taskmaster is one of the coolest anti-heroes out there. I also think he'd work well in this story, especially if you've read the comics and know that he doesn't like the Avengers (maybe that's his goal in Black Widow?).

Besides, I've had this version of Taskmaster for this story for the past year now and I was shocked to find out he was the main antagonist in Black Widow. So I've tweaked his character to fit this story and to not rip off the MCU's version. You'll get to meet him before the new movie comes out.


	41. CHAPTER XLI

**CHAPTER FORTY-ONE**

**(** WELCOME **)**

**A GROAN ESCAPES her lips as** she feels several vibrations run through the thin lining of her mattress. Quinn's eyes try to adjust to the brightness of her screen, as she squints to see what exactly is happening with her phone. To her surprise, it's an alarm, something she hasn't had to set for a while especially this early.

Her thumb pressed snooze, as she has the full intent to return to her slumber but once she sees her idle home screen a shock of panic runs thick through her blood. Eleven missed calls from Stark Industries with five voicemails, six missed calls from Jo with six voicemails, and what looks to be a hundred text messages from miscellaneous people ranging from Dustin at S.H.I.E.L.D. to Monyce her mother's nurse.

Her eyes widen as she scrolls through her texts. Had the end of the world happened? Just as she goes to tap on a text message to see what was wrong her phone vibrates in her hand, startling her. Jo's smiling face pops up with her name scrolling across the top of the screen in bright letters.

Quinn hastily answers the phone. "Six missed calls from you in less than an hour. Did something happen? Is there an attack on New York again?" Quinn questions hysterically just as she picks up the phone.

_"I don't know, why don't you tell me what's going on?"_

Quinn pinches the bridge of her nose and sighs in frustration. She was always so dramatic after she hadn't spoken to her for a bit. It wasn't her fault she hadn't spoken to her she had been...busy. "I don't have time to play guessing games, Jo -"

_"When were you going to tell me you and Steve were an actual item?"_ Jo accuses, cutting her off mid-sentence and leaving her mouth ajar. An item? How did she even know?

"What?" Quinn questions, her voice littered with confusion yet she became irritated thinking about what was happening. "What are you talking about?"

_"Quinn, there are pictures of you kissing Steve all over the place,"_

Her breath hitches in her throat as she hears this newfound information. There are pictures of her and Steve everywhere? That did make sense, they had only asked Frank to delete the photos but it had completely escaped her mind that the other paparazzi wouldn't leak their photos. This was bound to be a juicy story for a least a minute.

Hopefully, this wouldn't cause a rift between her and Steve. However, she didn't think it'd affect him too much, he basically already told Stark to shove it when it came to PR stuff. _"Honestly I'm more upset that I wasn't the first to know about this. I thought we were friends,"_ Jo whines into the receiver, bringing Quinn back into the moment. Her brows furrow in confusion. "We are friends," she affirms, her voice littered with confusion.

_"Then why didn't you tell me about this?"_ Jo huffs out causing Quinn to roll her eyes. She lived over a thousand miles away, it's not like she could tell her everything when it happened like she used to. "I don't know, because it literally just happened like a week ago. He went on a mission afterward, I didn't want to tell you just in case something happened to him," Quinn excuses herself, hoping this would deflect her guilty conscience for not telling her best friend.

_"Oh my god Quinn, he's Captain America,"_ she groans out over the phone.

"I know I shouldn't worry too much -"

_"No, I meant it as in you're dating Captain America. That's nuts,"_ Jo states, her voice sounding more bubbly than before.

"I wouldn't quite call it that," Quinn corrects her, slightly hissing at the word "dating".

_"What would you call it then?"_

She shrugs, crossing her room to pull out an outfit for the orientation for today. She couldn't be too preoccupied with the dating rumors flooding her phone at the moment. "Two friends who like each other who just happened to kiss each other a couple of times -"

_"Oh my god, Quinn! You are so clueless when it comes to these things!"_

Quinn removes the phone from her ear as Jo shouts at her. She places her outfit on the bed, making sure to stay away from Rudolph's fur - he'd sabotage anything black if he was around it. She audibly scoffs over the receiver before walking to Rudolph and scratching the top of his head, sitting down in her bed. "Well, I'm sorry I don't have a lot of experience in dating, alright? I tend to not want to get my feelings trampled over all the time,"

This was bound to strike Jo to her core, especially since she had just found one person who she wanted to be with less than a year ago. Here she was preaching to her about love and her absence of it. Rudolph's large head nuzzled his way into her lap, enjoying the absent-minded stress pets he was getting from his owner. _"How long has it been since you've dated someone?"_ Jo questions hotly.

"I just said it's not dating -"

_"You went on a date with him!"_

"And I went on a date with Maddox, does that make him my ex?"

_"Not technically but you did date him -"_

"That's not how it works!"

_"Hey, don't tell me how dating works -"_

"Okay, Jo, how many boyfriend's have you had then?"

Jo is silent for a moment, sitting in awe that Quinn had finally said it straight forward that she doesn't know a thing about love as well. In Quinn's eyes, she was just as inexperienced as she was. _"Well...you see...those weren't...real...okay but you and Steve have been building this up for a good few months now it's not like you met on an app," _Jo attempts to convince her best friend, earning a groan in return.

Quinn wants to scream into her pillow as she tosses the phone on to the bed with the speaker on. She pushes Rudolph off of her lap as she inspects her outfit once again, this time hanging it on a pin jutting out from her door so I could stay far away from the golden retriever's fur.

She hopes that the rumors hadn't spread too far but, by the way, she had gotten so many calls and texts she knew it was being blown of out proportions. Her stomach gurgles, alerting her that she would probably feel a lot better about the situation if she ate something. It may calm her nerves for her orientation.

_"So does this mean when you come down for Halloween he'll come too? Are you guys going to do your own thing or do I have to include him in the group?"_ Jo begins listing coupley things off, making Quinn regret everything she'd done with Steve up until now. "Jo I don't have time for this, I have an orientation today,"

Once she opens the door she's greeted by the wafting smell of freshly brewed coffee engulfing the apartments air. She ignores Jo's assaulting questions as she turns to see Robin leaning on the door frame of the kitchen, a mug in her hand as she surveyed her. "Why are you up?" she questions, making her way past her into the kitchen.

It was awfully early to see her up at this time. In fact, it was early to see Jo up at this time and have her call at least ten times. This must be the end of the world. "Oh I got a notification from Amazon that I have a big package being delivered," she explains, watching Quinn's every movement as she places her phone down on the counter to fix up food for Rudolph.

"You know how the drivers are, if you don't answer the first ring they'll take it back to the fulfillment center and I'll have to pick it up," she continues, her voice sounding hoarse from being up this early.

"What's the package?" Quinn asks as she begins making her food.

"Oh, I'm starting a podcast. Figured it'd help get me over Cynthia and it's a good way to blow off some steam," her voice trails off as she looks to the floor awkwardly. Quinn notes that it was uncharacteristic of her to not be speaking at the moment - even if she was tired. Something must be up.

Robin clears her throat before speaking again, "Hey since you're here, do you want to be my first guest on the podcast? Having you might boost my views since you're trending,"

Quinn drops the peanut butter covered knife from her hand as she lets the words sink in. "What?" she questions darkly. Robin shifts in her position uncomfortably. "You're trending?" she repeats herself. The color from Quinn's face drains at the words, for a moment she can't hear anything but an unsatisfying ringing sound. "I'm what?" she asks again shakily this time.

A nervous sweat starting to build up on the back of her neck. "Trending. On social media?" Robin attempts to clarify, perking one brow up as she looked at her roommate. "Yeah, I get that," Quinn whispers out. Her stomach makes a churn for the worst. She instantly feels like vomiting. She didn't like gossip and she definitely didn't like gossip involving her.

Robin disappears for a moment but comes back into the kitchen with her laptop, placing in beside Quinn on the counter. Her heart drops as she reads the eye-catching headlines on Google. "_'The Girl Who Stole Cap's Shield of a Heart', 'Cap's Girl', 'The __Real__ Miss America'?_"

"Oh, are you reading the articles?" Jo's voice startles her. She had completely forgotten that she was still on the phone with her. She must've gone and done something to be that quiet for that long. It didn't concern Quinn at the moment, she was more focused on seeing her name typed in the search bar and finding hundreds of articles about her and Steve.

"Just the headlines," she whimpers out, scrolling through the pages upon pages of articles. She hoped no sensitive information got out, like where she lived or what her mother's name was, or what was even happening to her mother. She cringes at her carelessness of being with Steve, this was the last time she'd be following any advice from Frank.

_"I got an email from BuzzFeed wanting to talk to me about you,"_ Jo pipes up, once again drawing Quinn out of her stressed-out state. "What?"

"Me too," Robin states, making Quinn whip her head over to her. "But hey that's now my competition so I can't talk to anyone,"

_"Oh, you're actually starting that podcast?"_ Jo's voice becomes bubbly as she begins speaking to Robin. "Yes," Robin confirms in an equally annoying voice. _"Dang, good for you girl!"_ Jo compliments, forcing Quinn to run her hand over her face in irritation. "Hey! Hey! Focus!" she shouts to the both of them, squashing whatever celebration they were talking about. She had a bigger issue at hand. "Don't talk to anyone about this until I figure this out," she instructs the two in a strict tone that could easily rival Steve's authoritative tone.

The counter vibrates underneath Quinn's phone, disrupting her further instructions to the two women. She rolls her eyes as she sees the caller I.D. as Asami Swan - Stark Industries. Great. She was calling to yell at her, no doubt. They probably violated ten things in the NDA she had previously signed.

Her stomach drops as she grabs on to her phone, although she knows she could easily just send her to voicemail. However, she's already missed more than enough calls from them, she was in enough trouble, she didn't want to prolong it. "I've got to take this. I'll talk to you later Jo," she sighs as she hangs up on her friend.

Her thumb hesitates over the green answer button, she absentmindedly bites on her opposite thumbnail as she stares down at the phone. "Stark Industries?" Robin curiously questions, earning a numb head nod from her roommate. Quinn huffs out yet another sigh of regret as she answers the phone. _"Quinn it's good to hear from you. I was starting to get worried that you'd oversleep,"_ Asami greets as soon as she answers the phone.

"Ah, yeah, I was asleep until about a half-hour ago," Quinn admits, a sheepish blush creeping on her face. She doesn't know why she admitted that

"Well, I was just giving you a courtesy call, informing you that your orientation is at eleven and that it's over off of federal avenue,"

"Oh, that's close to you. Yeah, I was just getting ready for that," she hums out amused as she crosses the kitchen to go back into her room to look at her outfit. She nervously paces towards her window to look out at the street. "Um, is that all you wanted to talk about?" she questions anxiously waiting for her to snap.

_"Yes, that's it,"_ Asami assures her with an ominous tone as if she were confused by her question. Quinn retreats from her window to shut her bedroom door, where she notices that Robin had been eavesdropping. Robin throws her an apologetic look as she glares at her before shutting the door. "It just seemed like there was something more important. I had nineteen missed calls by you -"

_"I assure you, Quinn. That was not myself,"_ Asami interrupts, humorlessly chuckling into the receiver.

"It just says Stark Industries, eleven missed calls?" Quinn tries to bait her into figuring out who actually called her so many times.

_"Well, I called from my personal line. Did my name not show up?"_

Quinn quickly looks back down at her phone. She curses to herself. It did say her name. She had been careless about accusing her. "Ah, no it did. My mistake, I'm sorry," she quickly folds under the pressure of her wrongdoing.

_"Quinn, if you have any missed calls from Stark Industries it wasn't from myself and it definitely wasn't from Mr. Stark. If they left any voicemails, can you please alert me on who they might be from? We handle things very seriously here and if you're getting calls from someone who's not from Stark Industries but it's showing up as such, we'd like to know to get it taken care of,"_ Asami's voice is low and serious, causing Quinn's blood to run cold from how severe she was treating the anonymous calls.

She once again swallows a lump building in the back of her throat. "Of course, I'll see if there's a voicemail and get back to you," she tries to calmly state, however, there's a slight tremble in her voice. Her thumb shakily ends the call, her eyes glazed over with the immediate shock that was taking hold of her.

Not only did she have to stress about the orientation but now her relationship with Steve was out of the box. Confliction overtakes her. Of course, she's somewhat happy to know she doesn't have to keep sneaking around with Steve, but he's also one to keep to himself. All this attention they're receiving is going to send him through the roof. Things could possibly take a turn for the worst.

But that wasn't the Steve she knew, he'd never take such drastic turns so suddenly. She lets her mind clear as she shuffles around trying to get ready for the orientation. If she was going to be the talk of the town she might as well look the part. Hopefully, no one recognized her from the newly published tabloids and news articles. Not everyone had time to read gossip, especially members of any government agency...she hoped.

She unlatched her door with a shaky breath, bending down to pet Rudolph in a last-ditch attempt to relieve stress. At this point, she didn't care if there was _some_ dog hair on her outfit, just not clumps. A buzzing noise came from the living room, as she entered she saw Robin, flipping through the channels of the TV.

She purses her lips as their eyes finally connect, Robin, making a lame attempt to cheer her up by imitating a seductive trumpet, forcing Quinn to roll her eyes. The sooner she left, the better. "Hold down the fort until I get back," she calls over her shoulder as she makes a beeline to the door. "Oh God," she hears Robin hiss under her breath. "You're starting to sound like my grandpa,"

Quinn's cheeks flame up with embarrassment as she tries to leave the apartment as fast as she can. Maybe she had been spending too much time with Steve.

_**~ BOOK TWO: AGE OF ULTRON ~**_

**THE BUILDING HUMS with activity as** swarms of officers, agents, and desk workers mill about in the lobby and the halls. In many ways, this place reminded her of S.H.I.E.L.D. as every busybody that passed her on the bench looked like they had an important purpose and if they were to break concentration they'd lose whatever high horse they were on. None of them even spared a look in her direction as she waited for her name to be called.

A small smile appears on her face as she thinks about this. Maybe the articles haven't gone too viral, maybe no one really did recognize her. However, in a way she doubted it. One of the world's most paranoid government branches were bound to have facial recognition somewhere. She shrugs off the sinking feeling. If they knew about her, then they knew about her. It's not like Stark didn't already provide that information to them.

Anxiously, she peers down at her phone to look at the time. Eleven hundred. There were still many texts and missed calls from people she knew, along with numbers and faces that she didn't know. None from Steve. A part of her was worried that he caught wind of what was happening and wanted to bolt away from anything that had to do with them. Leave it to his popularity and the paparazzi to ruin something great.

The sinking feeling in her stomach grows deeper when she hears two sets of heels approaching her at the bench. Her gaze drifts up towards the two women who humbly smiled at her as they make their way towards her. "Miss Cruise?" The older woman of the two calls to her from an arms length away.

Quinn's mouth suddenly feels dry as she realizes the moment she's been waiting for is finally here. She quickly nods her head once, her mouth slightly agape from the nerves that were starting to rise. The older woman outstretches her hand towards her. "My name is Yvette, I'm the assistant director of this precinct," she greets, as Quinn numbly takes her hand. Her legs feel a little wobbly as reality hits her hard.

"This is Kat, she's a special agent but some times works as my protogé," she nods her head back to the woman standing behind her, who's arms was crossed against her chest. Quinn couldn't help but stare at her, she seemed almost too beautiful to be a special agent. She looked as if she belonged on a runway.

Kat simply nods her head as a greeting before scanning her appearance and writing something down on the iPad in her hands. She immediately made Quinn feel small, insignificant as if being here was just a waste of time. "Why don't we step into my office? Get to know each other a little more, go over some things?" Yvette suggests, flashing her another half-hearted smile.

"Su-sure," Quinn stammers out, adjusting her skirt as she begins to follow the two women. She has to force herself to take a deep breath as she walks behind them, trying to convince herself that this was no big deal. It's not an interview - it's an orientation. So Stark somewhat helped her past that barrier for her.

As she steps into the office she notices that it's smaller than she expected. Plain wooden walls where there weren't windows overlooking the inside of the building, even though the walls appeared to be decked out in degrees and awards won from Yvette. Her desk was large, however, there was an absence of human touch to the area. No photos of friends or loved ones, nothing but stacks of papers and miscellaneous files that were laid open until she had arrived. Even the chair she sat in was uncomfortable, just a small black office chair on wheels.

It was definitely a change of scenery from Asami's office, and even from S.H.I.E.L.D. "Let's start from the beginning," Yvette speaks up, as she wheels herself closer to her desk, Kat following closely behind. "Just tell me if everything on here is correct," she informs her while shuffling through some papers on her desk and placing a pair of glasses on her nose. Quinn merely nods her head.

Yvette begins to rattle off the list that she had gone over with Asami. It irked her in a way. First, she had to go over everything with Priya, then Asami, and then Yvette? It was getting a little ridiculous. She didn't want everyone and their mother knowing about her personal information.

No one should know what her middle name is, or where she was born, and definitely not where her mother was treating at. Feeling the exposed made her anxious. Especially after her Hydra incident.

"You graduated in two thousand eight at the top of your class, yet, you went straight to I.T. instead of being a field agent," Yvette's curious tone snaps her out of her fit. "Why?" Her eyes scan over Quinn from the top of her glasses. It was if she was analyzing her movements, her reactions on certain questions, seeing what made her squirm uncomfortably or if she answered with a level head.

"A lot happened during my college years, I couldn't risk putting myself out there like that," she admits, hesitantly at first as she stared into the dark eyes of the director. "Not willing to lay down your life or couldn't?"

"Couldn't," she easily answers. "For my mother's sake,"

"How about now?" Yvette clarifies, hitting something down on the edge of the paper in front of her. "Are you willing to lay down your life if needed?"

Quinn's breath hitches in the back of her throat. This suddenly got way too real, way too fast for her. She had always assumed they'd stick her behind a computer like S.H.I.E.L.D. had but this was starting to make her think otherwise. Was she actually willing to put down her life? Was she actually willing to risk not being able to see her mother, talk to Robin and Jo, or be with Steve?

She had finally gotten to a place where she wanted to be. But the real question would be if she was truly happy selling overpriced computers every day for the rest of her life. This could make or break this. "Yes," she shakily breathes out. Her eyes dart to the ground for a moment as she notices Yvette writing things down on the sheet of paper in front of her. "How much field training do you have?"

"Field training?" Quinn tries to get clarification.

"Combat training. I know it's been a while since you probably had a sparring partner, exam, all of that -"

"Over the past year actually," Quinn chimes in, catching Yvette and Kat off guard. Kat's brows raise at the statement. "I trained with Blair Norris -"

"But do you actually remember any of this?" Kat pipes up for the first time. She scoffs as she leans back in her seat, waiting for Quinn to respond. "You're mind was taken over by Hydra. Our records show that you've forgotten a lot of the past year -"

"I've gained some memories back," Quinn tries to defend herself but Kat turns her down. "No. If it were up to me, I wouldn't have even scheduled this, even if you have some sort of deal with Tony Stark. You're too weak if you can't overcome that challenge," she turns to face the director. "Yvette, if she can succumb to mind control, who's to say she won't in the future? You can't do this. You'll put this whole precinct in jeopardy,"

"She won't succumb to it in the future because it won't happen, we won't allow it," Yvette hisses at her apprentice. "If you had a say in it, sure she'd be out but you don't, stand down Lazar,"

"I'm sorry if being under Hydra's influence makes you uncomfortable," Quinn perks up, surprising the two. "It frightening to not know what you're capable of when you're not in control of your actions. I understand your concerns. Perhaps it would be best if I do go back to being a retail employee,"

"No," Yvette's tone is hastier than what Quinn expected. It was as if she was panicked to let her walk out on the orientation. Either they really needed more special agents or this had something to do with Stark. She was willing to bet on the latter.

"We've looked over people's discrepancies in the past. What happened to you was out of your control, we have no reason to believe you're a threat," Yvette states as she plops a lozenge in her mouth. "Besides, you look fairly harmless," she adds, trying to lighten the heavy mood that was circling her office at the moment.

"Let's get down to business, Cruise," she exclaims. She slides a manila folder across the desk towards her with the large emblem of the program on top of it. "You're here to be a special agent. We hold a very high standard of what it takes to be an agent. Multiple background checks, reference checks, drug tests,"

Quinn begins to flip through the folder as Yvette continues to list off all the mandatory background screenings she'd have to attend and submit afterward. Of course, she's being evaluated like she was under a microscope. She was no one, doing nothing, then all of a sudden she was a someone doing the right thing. She couldn't help but smile as she thought of this.

"Agent Lazar will be helping you get acclimated with all your classes and training regimen in Quantico," Yvette states, drawing her attention back to the director. Quinn's brows furrow in confusion at the statement as Kat rolls her eyes from behind the director. It was clear she was as unenthused by the news as Quinn was confused.

"Quantico?" Quinn speaks up, her voice sounding on edge. "But that's all the way down in Virginia. I can't just leave my mom -"

"Your mother will be taken care of, Cruise," Yvette assures her by speaking over her. "Besides it'll be like when you lived in D.C. and your mother was here,"

Quinn winces at the statement. It was a low blow. Even for her. She didn't want to be separated from her mother again because of what had happened previously. "What's in Quantico? A base?" Quinn questions, the news knocking the pep out of her voice. "No, Hun, _the_ academy that'll make sure you hold up to our very high standards," Yvette clarifies. Kat chuckles in her seat at Quinn's naïvity.

"Is it mandatory?" Quinn counters, frantically shuffling through the pages of the manilla envelope. It felt as if everything was slipping through her fingers just like the pieces of paper that drifted from her hands. "Everyone is required to graduate from Quantico," Kat answers lethargically.

"How long will it take?" she continues to rattle off. Her mind was going a mile a minute. She didn't sign up for this. "For you?" Yvette scans her features over before looking back down at her sheet. "About three months,"

"_Three months?_" It comes out in an exasperated whisper. Three months was too long for her to just be away to do some training. It was unbelievable. "Is there an echo in here?" Kat whispers under her breath only to have Yvette throw her a dirty look. "I-I can't be away for three months," Quinn stammers out a plea. "I have an apartment and a dog -"

"Which will also be covered in your absence," Yvette interrupts to reassure her. "Miss Cruise, you don't have to accept the offer. You can go back and be in retail, but I can guarantee you that they won't fund the move for your mother,"

This confuses Quinn even further, her brows knit together in an unconvinced motion. "Fund the move?" she questions.

"Your mother is required to go to a certain facility to rehabilitate and monitor, correct?"

"How'd you know?" Her tone is defensive as she's quick to become protective of her mother and her privacy. "We have our ways," Yvette drones out, sucking on the lozenge. "We're more than willing to fund the move, but that's only if you accept the offer," she offers.

Quinn looks at her dazed for a moment. Was this a deal? A way to keep her end of the bargain instead of flaking out? Although it makes a chill run up her spine, she was in no situation to refuse the help. Besides, she couldn't move her mother without them. "Three months?" Quinn reiterates, narrowing her eyes at the director.

"Three months," Yvette confirms while leaning back in her chair.

"And that's it?"

"That's all we ask of you,"

Quinn's eyes squeeze shut as she debates as to why she wants to refuse but she can't. There was no way she could. But she'd miss out on so much with everyone. A sigh racks through her chest as she leans forward to readjust. "When do I ship off?" she begrudgingly asks. "The first week of October," Yvette answers.

"So next week?" Her voice sounds defeated as she asks. She doesn't want to look at Yvette and Kat anymore, but she watches as Yvette nods her head in confirmation. That's a short time to inform everyone of her absence and to get ready but this clearly wasn't a bargaining situation. Her jaw clenches as she nods her head in agreement.

She hated the gleam in Yvette's eyes as she scans her once again, a wide grin appearing on her face. "All the information regarding your stay at the Quantico facility will be in your packet," she informs her with a chipper tone in her voice.

Quinn flips through the packet once again. She was getting tired of reading packets all the time. This time she'd be more vigilant while reading it. She couldn't have another Priya situation on her hands.

Yvette juts her hand out across the desk, making Quinn jump a little in her seat at the sudden movement. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see Kat roll her eyes for the millionth time. Her gaze then falls upon the director and her extended hand as she takes it. "Welcome to the FBI,"

* * *

**A/N: A little side note, Knarl (on here) has made a trailer for this fic! **

**It's up on her youtube page - Kelsey P, it's titled Steve and Quinn. It's amazing. She did a terrific job editing all those clips together to basically summarize Quinn and Steve's relationship (and even predicted a few moments that'll happen later on in the series without me telling her, she's a mind reader). Anyways, it's wonderful, she's truly talented so go watch it and while you're at it, if you want to read a Bucky fic that's original go to her page, she has an amazing story out called It Started With Pizza. Stay tuned for next week, where we'll see the last of Steve for a bit.**


	42. CHAPTER XLII

**CHAPTER FORTY-TWO**

**( **RIGHT BY YOUR SIDE **)**

**"IT'S AWFULLY COLD out here, String-bean,"** her mother muttered to herself as she wraps her jacket closer to her body. Leave it to her mother to want to go outside but instantly regret it and complain the whole way. It wasn't what Quinn wanted to hear at the moment. However, an immense amount of guilt had hit her in the gut as she found out she was leaving her mother for the next few months. She had grown somewhat accustomed to seeing her often, no matter what mood she was in. Today's mood had been pleasant. She seemed to be rather normal. She understood that her husband and son had been gone for a while now, it was like she had grieved so much that she was eventually fine now.

If she didn't have her condition, Quinn wouldn't be surprised if this would be the new normal with her. But tomorrow was a new day. Monyce, her mother's nurse, quickly tightens the blanket around the woman for more warmth in her wheelchair. Along with her drifting mind, she was starting to loose control of her basic motor functions. Even though she was fine today, her condition seemed to be worsening. It pained her to leave her in this time. Quinn's guilty conscience made her think of the best possible way to say goodbye to her mother for a period of time. Taking her to Central Park like she's been asking.

Although the parks trees were beautifully turning from their ordinary green shades to their vibrant reds and oranges, the wind seemed to be a constant problem in trying to keep any of them warm. They halted at a bench near a large, broken wall where kids liked to climb up and down it during the warmer months - even though it was highly prohibited. "It's almost Halloween," her mother smiled as she watched a few ducks skid into the lake across from them. "What are you going to be?"

A smile creeps across her face. "An FBI agent," she teases, even though it wasn't necessarily a joke. She knew if she really told her mother what she was doing, where she was going, she'd be heart broken for a moment. As Doctor Woodruff always said, it was nice for her to have a familiar face around to help her understand what was happening.

At first she thought Doctor Woodruff would be upset with her leaving abruptly, but she was made aware that her mother's move was abundant and fully paid for. Now she had no grievances with her since her pockets were full. "What will you be?" Quinn asks in return. Her mother hesitates, placing her frail hand up to her mouth as she concentrated on the buildings, deep in thought. "A bird," she answers quietly. "A bird?" Monyce reiterates in a coaxing tone - as if she were speaking to a toddler. "I always liked birds," she defends her answer. "They're free, able to fly wherever, whenever,"

A moment of piece and silence washed over the pair along with the nurse who used this opportunity to be on her phone. It was nice to have some quiet moments with her mother like this. Especially with how the past few days have been. Constant buzzing from her phone, her email was chalk full of gossip reporters wanting some inside information about her. They didn't care for her. To the public eye she was a nobody who came out of nowhere and blind sided the nosey nation, who didn't know that Captain America had feelings let alone someone on the side.

Thankfully, no one has noticed her in public yet, or they respect Steve's private life. She snorts at the thought of actually having a normal life with him. That would be a cold day in hell. "When I go I want to come back as a bird," her mother states after a moment, her gaze resting on the restless water of the pond. Quinn's brows knit together questioningly and concerned. Her mother wasn't one to talk about death, she was always someone who tried to avoid it.

"Why so morbid, ma?" she questions, looking down at her feet as she shuffles them around in an attempt to get her mind off of death. "It's not morbid, it's a way of life, String-bean," her mother chuckles softly at Quinn's childlike nature of being fidgety while talking about death. It just didn't settle right in her stomach. "I want to come back as a bird so I can watch over you,"

Quinn couldn't help but smile to herself. Her mother actually looked normal for the time being. Like an actual, caring, mother. It almost made her tear up. But then again, tomorrow there would be another variation of Marianne Cruise sitting in her room waiting for someone. Maybe she'd still remember everything, maybe bits and pieces, but it'd more likely be that she didn't remember much of anything.

She can't help but feel as if it wasn't fair that most people could have a normal relationship with their mother, to be able to easily talk to them about the simplest things without them throwing a tantrum when they were unable to wrap their minds around anything. Of course, she somewhat understood how frustrating it was to not be able to remember things. She would give anything to remember her time with Steve before Hydra came along and ruined everything. Sure, she had the past month - month and a half to get to know Steve better, to be able to talk to him and go over everything that she had missed out on, and it was always nice that she could also talk to Jo and she'd be able to confirm a lot of the things that he was saying to be true.

She didn't want to waste it by leaving him for three months. She was actually annoyed that he was so understanding with her going away for the time being. He related it to going away for boot camp back before he was twice his size. He didn't like to reminisce about his past that often but she found it interesting when he did. "What're you smiling at?" her mother interrupts her train of thought. She peers over to her grinning like a bobcat. Quinn chuckles nervously to herself before shaking her head. "Nothing," she hums out. "It's nothing,"

"It's someone," her mother disagrees, causing Quinn's nerves to stand on edge. Her eyes absentmindedly dart towards Monyce, who is looking over her mother's shoulders with a slight smirk, hoping she'd talk about Steve. As much as she wanted to tell her mother everything she didn't know how she'd react to dating the renowned super soldier or just dating anyone. Besides, she couldn't let her worry even more, she already was going to panic when she leaves later today as it will be a while before she sees her again.

"It's not important," she smiles at her mother. Marianne simply chuckles at her daughter. It was clear that she was smitten with infatuation. Monyce's eyebrows raise at Quinn's answer, a smug smile appearing on her face as she represses a dismissive laugh. Of course Monyce knew who Quinn was thinking about, who she was seeing. It was plastered all over the internet. Thankfully, she had kept it quiet so her mother wouldn't ask her any prying questions. Or she had told her mother at one point and her mother had forgotten. Quinn rolls her eyes at the nurse before returning her attention to the pond in front of them. "How long are you going away?" Marianne questions.

"Not long," Quinn shrugs in response. "Three months at most,"

"And where exactly are you going?"

"Virginia,"

"For what?"

Quinn hesitates for a moment, her breath hitching in her throat. "A class," she lies, nervous tone tinging her throat. Could she lie? Yes. To a complete stranger she felt comfortable doing so. Could she lie to her mother? Somewhat, although she felt awfully guilty while doing so. It went against everything that her parents had taught her to do. "What kind of class -"

"Have you ever had a churro? Because I'm starving and I know there's a food stand somewhere near here," Quinn quickly averted the conversation. This was the wrong time for her mother to decide to be nosy in her life. She could've done it when she needed it in high school instead of shutting her out. "I'm not hungry," Marianne hums out as she looks at her daughter. "But if the conversation makes you uncomfortable and you find yourself reliant on eating food to make you feel better than by all means," Marianne states unempathetically.

Quinn's mouth became ajar as she looked at her mother in disbelief at the rude remark. Monyce's jaw tightened as she forced herself not to break her silence and give her hand in the conversation. "Since when did you become a psychiatrist?" Quinn asks in a hot tone as Marianne asks Monyce for her help to undo her wheelchair constraints. "Quinn Louise, I am your _mother_," Marianne tutts. She rolls her eyes at the use of her middle name. "Ever since you were small you went to food for comfort -"

"I did not!" Quinn argues, outraged by her mother's blatant accusation. It may have been true but she didn't need to bring it up in front of her nurse. "She was a round little girl," she commented to Monyce as she undid her restraints. Monyce pursed her lips as she looked up at Quinn who was seething. "Come on String-bean, let's get your food,"

Quinn tilted her head back in annoyance, letting out a frustrated groan. Everything had been pleasant up until now. "This is such horse shit," she whispered under her breath as she began to catch up with her mother. "Language!" her mother hisses out, earning an eye roll from her. She opens her mouth to give her another snide remark but her phone vibrates in her pocket. A small smile creeps up on her face as she sees Steve's name pop up across the screen. It pained her that she was going to have to say goodbye to him for so long. "We're going back," she informed the two, looking down at her phone to view the time. "I've got somewhere to be soon,"

"Are you taking a boy to get food? Quinn, you should at least make him food -"

"I'm not taking him to get food. I'm just saying goodbye to him -"

"So, there is someone," Marianne exclaims as she's just figured out a mystery. Quinn stops in her tracks as her mother looks up at her. Her hazel eyes gleaming mischievously. It was as if she were a toddler who had just found out a secret. She was going to hold it above her for quite some time now. However, the longer she looked at her, the sadder her expression became. Her lips pulled down in a heavy frown, eyes not breaking from her daughter's. "Why haven't I met him yet?"

A frustrated sigh escapes Quinn's lips. "Is it me?" Marianne pries, earning a sympathetic look from her daughter. "I know I can be a bit loopy with everything going on, I bet I can be very embarrassing to show off,"

Quinn can already see a sheepish blush pull to her mother's cheeks. She was genuinely worried that she wouldn't introduce her to Steve just because of her condition. Quinn could be cold at times, just as her mother had been to her in the past, but she wasn't heartless. It was clear that her mother was at least trying to establish a good relationship now. Even if she was making fun of her. "No, ma, it's not you. It's just too fresh right now," she begins to explain. "I like him, I don't want to scare him away by introducing him to you after seeing him after a couple of weeks,"

Her mother gives her an disappointed look. Not disappointed in her and her failure to introduce Steve or even mention she was dating someone to her, but more so disappointment in herself. She couldn't help her condition. Quinn's heart gives a tight squeeze in her chest as she looks down at her disheartened mother. She was trying. Quinn squats down to meet her mother at eye level, flashing her a reassuring smile. "I _promise_ I will bring him to meet you once things get more serious,"

Marianne's eyes narrow at her daughter. "Cross your heart?" she mumbles out as she makes an X over her chest. Quinn mimics the motion. "Stick a needle in my eye,"

Her mother cups her cheek tenderly, as if she were clearly seeing her for the first time after a long time. It made Quinn feel somewhat complete inside. However, tomorrow was a new day and a new Marianne. She would introduce Steve to her when the time was right and when she was in the right mindset, like today.

She sighed as Monyce began to move her mother along the winding path, leading towards the nearest exit of the park. She would no longer question to go to this big place soon, she'd be living a little ways north of New York City, where the woods were thick and people like her flourished. Hopefully she'd like it instead of New York. She was bound to get tired of listening to the restless sounds of the hospital. She'd be happy, in her element. Quinn would give anything if it meant her mother could be happy.

**_~ BOOK TWO: AGE OF ULTRON ~_**

**HER FINGERS NUMBLY peck at her** phone screen as she walks along with bustling sidewalk. The tear stains on her cheeks were cool with the fall air. She could easily blame the sniffles on the cold weather, and the watery eyes on allergies but that wasn't the real cause of her dismay. Abandoning her sick mother was the cause of her tears. She was leaving when she needed her most. It was also nice to see her acting like a normal human being instead of what her sickness made her act like. It almost made her believe that her mother wasn't ill, a small glimpse of what her life and relationship with her mother would've been. She stayed strong while saying goodbye to her mother but not for long.

The next thing she knew she was slamming the bathroom stall with hot tears stinging her eyes. Usually, she'd head home afterwards, cry and work on EDGE while either listening to Robin practice or taking her unsolicited advice. The only thing that would keep her away from home after sobbing in a bathroom mirror would be Steve. He was always one to help cheer her up when she wasn't feeling well, even if she just heard his voice over the phone it'd make her happier.

Thankfully, she had already purposely planned to say goodbye to him after saying goodbye to her mother. He would act as a buffer, to reassure her that it wasn't her fault she was leaving and that it was for the greater good, something that would ease her guilty conscience. The directions on her phone had lead her to an open pathway towards the Highline, the place where she and Steve had agreed to meet at. Who wouldn't want to go on a beautiful stroll high above the city as a date? There were some people milled about but not as many as she thought.

There, standing off to the side, looking as if he didn't want to be bothered, was Steve waiting for her arrival. She swore she could feel her heart thump loudly in her chest as soon as she caught sight of him. Even though her eyes were overwhelmed with tears from her mother, her mouth felt as dry as the Mojave desert. She was surprised that no one was coming up and talking to him since he was blatantly out in the open, however, she couldn't guarantee that it wouldn't happen at least once or twice on their walk. The tightness in his jaw as he stared at his phone could've been a worthy detourant to keep people away.

He had come a long way since they had first met apparently. He used to use notepads and notebooks but he quickly dropped the habit once she was around to scold him otherwise. Now he didn't look like he was a man out of his time, he looked normal, like he belonged in the twenty-first century. She couldn't help but wonder what he was looking at.

However, she kept her cool as she casually approached him, not wanting to alert him of her presence. She quietly neared him, trying to get a peek of what he was looking at only to have him turn the phone screen away. She innocently looked up at him, to find him smiling down at her. "Top secret?" she lamely tries to cover herself from snooping. "You could say that," he states, placing his phone in his back pocket. "You're not wearing make up. You look nice," he notes. A sheepish blush makes an appearance across her cheeks. It's true that she hadn't exactly mastered wearing makeup every time she saw him but apparently she did it enough for him to notice her natural look once again. "Thanks, I cried it off in the hospital bathroom," she admits, trying to make a joke out of her misery.

Steve's brows furrow with concern as he sees her trying to hold back the pain that had caused her to cry off her makeup. "You say goodbye to your mom?" he guesses, only to earn a curt nod from her as her eyes drifted down towards the pavement to hide any trace of sadness. He saw right through her. "I'm sorry, Hun," he whispers out as he envelopes her in a tight embrace, her face nuzzling into the fabric of his jacket. She was trying to bury away any tears from the public eye. He could feel her labored breaths deep in her chest. The least he could do was assure her no one saw any tears escaping. She pulls back when she thinks she's ready to face him. Her blue eyes red and puffy from tears. Her voice cracks, "I'm just worried something is going to happen -"

"Hey, nothing is going to happen to her," he assures her in a firm but gentle tone, placing a hand on her cheek and swiping away a stray tear with his thumb. "Not while you're away and not while I'm in town. She knows you're only going away to help her out,"

His encouragement was enough to make her feel somewhat less guilty. However, she did feel bad for abandoning everyone, him, Robin, Jo, her mother, and most of all Rudolph (who will be in the care of Steve while she's away, living the pampered life while staying in the tower). She absentmindedly hooks her arm through his as they begin their walk through the nature path. She had discovered it not too long ago and had been wanting to visit it. A pathway above buildings through the city, caked with gardens and trees. It was like it's own little ecosystem in the sky. "Are you hungry?" he asks, after a few moments of silence. "Not at the moment but I can't say I won't stay that way. What do you have in mind?"

"Take out,"

"What kind?"

"Of the Chinese kind," he smirks down at her, knowing that it was one of her all time favorite things to eat. Her mouth watered just thinking about eating beef and broccoli. "You know me too well," she says under her breath. She wasn't quite sure if he heard her but his chuckle suggests that he did in fact hear her. "But I really shouldn't," she adds on. "I'm going to be training and I don't want to add weight -"

"I highly doubt eating Chinese food for one night is going to affect you," he protests.

"Yeah, but I've been eating out a lot lately, I mean look at me," she stubbornly states, patting her stomach. Steve narrows his eyes as he tries to see what she's doing. "You're being ridiculous, you're fine," he encourages. He knew that she felt self conscious about not running all the time, she was far too busy to be running. But she walked to work almost all the time, that was plenty of exercise as it was.

"She wants to meet you," Quinn speaks up after a moment of silence, surprising Steve. At first he's confused as to what she's talking about but then he understands which sends his brows shooting upwards. "Me? She knows me?" he questions, trying not to sound too excited. It was a big deal to him if her mother actually knew who he was. Quinn purses her lips while making a humming sound. "She knows I'm dating someone. She'd like she meet them," she corrects. "I'd be honored," Steve replies, puffing out his chest in confidence, making Quinn chuckle.

However, she lets out a soft sigh as she thinks about the situation. "I know you would, but I think that should be saved for later. I don't want to take you to meet her only to not be with you a month later," she states casually. Steve's heart snaps as he stops in his tracks as she continues walking ahead. She gives him a questioning look, wondering why he stopped. It was obvious that she had offended him.

"Are you thinking of...not being with me?" he softly asks, causing Quinn's own heart to ache. Her nerves stand on edge as she realizes what it must sound like. "No, never! Not at the moment," she quickly exclaims, a nervous sweat starting to build on the back of her neck. She takes a deep breath to try to calm herself down. "But I mean who can tell what could happen to us? Only time will,"

Quinn seems to sulk for a moment while Steve lightly smiles. She was only being realistic, her past relationships must've made her this way. He couldn't really blame her either. With his line of work, there's no telling what could happen to him. "Well as long as you're not thinking about breaking up with me, I'll wait until I can meet your mother," he states, intertwining his fingers with hers. "It's your decision and I respect that,"

Quinn couldn't help but smile as she looked at his features. Still warm, soft, yet chiseled and defined. She couldn't believe that he was actually interested in her instead of the women that threw themselves at him like Priya. What made her so special, so different than anyone else? If anything she treated him like everyone else as S.H.I.E.L.D. "I never did really get to congratulate you for making this choice," Steve chimes in, breaking her train of thought - more like daydream. "It's a hard choice,"

"Is it, though?" Quinn teases, her voice going up several octaves. Yes, she'd have to leave everyone behind for a few months but it's better than working minimum wage at Apple, plus her mother was moving to her facility free of charge. Steve laughs at her. "It's still a big choice, and I'm proud you're finally going to be doing what you want. You deserve this,"

Even when he was being genuinely nice he made her blush. She wished he had one imperfection about him, aside from the PR reps (that weren't even his fault). The only downside was the dangerous missions and it's not like she could hold it over him for much longer, soon she'd be going on missions like that as well. Hopefully not that extreme. "Better not go falling for someone while I'm away," she teasingly warns. "How could I?" he snorts in response.

They stop at an overpass, sitting down on one of the benches, watching as cars glide underneath them. As much as she hated to admit it, she was going to miss New York and it's tall buildings, bustling streets. It had a certain unique charm to it.

Absentmindedly, she rests her head on Steve's shoulder, admiring the buildings vibrant orange hues from the setting sun from behind them. "So you'll be here when I come back?" Quinn asks so softly, she wasn't sure he would be able to hear it. He turns to kiss the top of her head, surprising her and making her heart thump wildly in her chest. His voice is low, as he promises, "I'll be here, right by your side,"

* * *

**A/N: Hey all, I'm going to take a quick break for a moment. I apologize in advance for not forewarning everyone and it's kind of out of the blue. I'm in the process of moving and that'll take a while to pack and clean and get situated and settled in. I also wanted to stop here since this will be the last of Steve that we get to see (in person) for a while since the next few chapters deal with Quinn's training at Quantico. I will be back and updating April 10th. See you then!**


	43. CHAPTER XLIII

**CHAPTER FORTY-THREE**

**(** QUANTICO **)**

**THE AIR IS wet and humid** with the recent rainfall, the sun had been leaking out of the clouds just enough to make the air dense and suffocating. It was a miracle that anyone could breathe out here, especially the dozens of trainees that scoured the outside of the large building. The sound of their overlapping footsteps connecting with the pavement in unison filled Quinn's ears as she stepped out of the yellow cab.

She could've sworn for a moment this looked like boot camp. Technically it was but this boot camp wasn't just for anyone. Only the best of the best could be here, and somehow, by pure blind luck, she was here with the elite. She swallowed hard as she tried to take in this new reality she was in. This would either make or break her. If she were to fail at the academy, she would have no job to go back to, no funding for her mother. It's not like Apple would hire her back so soon. Maybe they would, they were a heartless corporation looking for lost souls to oik their machine.

She took a deep breath before exhaling, to try to calm her nerves that were rather shaken by the new change. Her hand clamps around her suitcase while the other throws the duffle bag over her shoulder, as she walks into the large building. She notices that most of the people - staff or agents - wore luxurious suits. They appeared to be something off if a movie, she just didn't realize how accurate they were until now. Her mouth struggles to not fly agape as she looks at the interior of the building, twirling around to see the large skylight overhead, with each floor circling around it like a honeycomb. With how many people in the building, it was surprisingly hushed.

"Quinn Cruise?" A voice calls out to her, drawing her attention towards the right side of the building. Her head whips around to see a woman, stalking towards her with a mound of paperwork in her hands. Although there's a smile plastered on her face, there's a sudden nagging ache in the back of her mind as she sees the paper. She really didn't want to fill out more paperwork, she had done that enough in the past month to compensate for the rest of her life.

She gives the woman a shirt wave before meeting her in the middle, her brow perking up in question as she approaches the woman. She notes that there's something almost cat-like in the way she walks, like she's careful but elegant. Her dark hair was pulled up in a beautiful bun, and her dark, cat-like eyes showed signs of friendliness but also were guarded. "How'd you know it was me?" Quinn questions as she finally gets in ear shot of the woman. She gives out a small, low, chuckle. "You look different than anyone here," she notes, nodding to the surrounding people in business-like attire.

A faint blush of embarrassment floods her cheeks, as she realizes she's the only one in the building in pants and a t-shirt. "Plus, your phones location let us know when you were entering the premises. Not that hard to detect,"

Quinn's eyes widen at the mention of her phone. Of course, they knew where she was because of her phone, a giant agency like this who is famous for tracking people down using their own tech and she was staying in the very hub where everyone was, she should've known better. "My name is Suyin Fang," the woman introduces herself, holding out her free hand for her to shake. "I'm the director for this division, I oversee the academy. I'm going to show you around,"

A tour from the actual director? This seemed like it was a perk from Tony. He must have a lot of pull here. She can't help but to look around at the building as she follows Suyin. It was immaculate, not a thing out of place. This made the Avengers tower lobby look like a complete pig sty. She didn't even want to compare it to her apartment - there was without a doubt no traces of golden fur just laying around on the floor here.

Suyin tried to make small talk with her as they wandered the hall. Questions like "how was your flight?", "is it humid outside?", all beat around the bush questions. Suyin abruptly stops as the enter a hallway, this time Quinn looks around, peering into the rooms. Classrooms, filled to the brim with students. Suyin knocks on the side of the wall of a classroom, waving an apologetic hand as she points towards a someone - a student obviously - before flashing the instructor another apologetic smile.

For someone who was in charge of everything and everyone here she walked around like she was stepping on eggshells all over the place. It was a change of pace from seeing someone in charge act so submissive. She gives her an apologetic smile as she crosses her way back over to her. "I'm sorry, I really wanted to give you this extravagant tour but, I am late for a meeting -"

"It was probably my fault," Quinn tries to brush it off. "I was sitting on the blacktop for a while after we landed. Storm and all," she nervously chuckles. She didn't want to disappoint the director but she wasn't entirely sure why. It was different when she worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. She had a built up respect for Fury, whereas now she just met Suyin. Maybe she was a people's pleaser. A kiss ass to the boss. It was a strange feeling. "Here's a map of the academy," Suyin states, as she begins piling papers into her hands. "Uniforms and dress codes, a syllabus on what you can and can't do, and your list if core classes,"

Quinn's brows raise in surprise as she collects all the paperwork and packets into her hands. She didn't expect this much to go into her first day. However, this was a government organization. They probably wanted to be thorough and cautious. They had every right to be ever since S.H.I.E.L.D. became compromised by Hydra. They didn't want another slip up. She added up the amount of people who were just milling around in the hallway with them. Sure they seemed to be chatting but something seemed off, like they were nervous to be in the same vicinity as her. She could easily make out the gun in holster in a man's suit jacket. A precaution. In her case, there was without a doubt at least five people watching her at all times, including Suyin. No wonder they looked uneasy. They were just waiting around to watch her to see if she was going to snap and attack everyone.

Maybe Kat's words of her being a hazard had been heard at the academy. It definitely damaged her morale of the place. She thought she could start over and move past Hydra but looking at everyone here was just a reminder of how dangerous she could be if she just heard the magic words.

A sigh escapes her lips. As she watches Suyin run to the door again, this time she was talking to a young girl with her hair pulled back. She can't help but press her lips into a firm line. She wasn't a monster, she didn't need to be followed. "Quinn," Suyin's voice catches her off guard from her own pity party. She tries her best to look alert as she stands there with the broadest and cheesiest smile across her face, her almond shaped eyes almost disappearing under her rosy cheeks. "I want you to meet Linnea," she points to the smaller woman beside her.

"She's a cadet, she's been her for almost four months," she guesses, her voice becoming a whine as Linnea nods in confirmation. "She's also going to be your dorm mate. She's going to take my place and give you the tour, the do's and don't's of the academy,"

The whole time while she's speaking she's looking at Linnea like this is the first time she was given the rundown. It probably was. Quinn immediately retracts her thought if Suyin being personable to each cadet, she was only interested in introducing herself so that she could possibly bring it up to Tony Stark and she'd get a pat on the back. She was just a pawn in her game plan just like Linnea.

"Linnea why don't I give you guys an ice breaker. Tell Quinn one interesting thing about yourself," Suyin encourages, giving her a firm pat of the shoulder and another fake smile before looking at her wrist for the time. "I'm going to be late. If you have any questions feel free to ask anyone. It was a pleasure to meet you, cadet Quinn,"

"You too," she bids, her voice faltering as Suyin walks away before she can even finish her sentence. "Hallo," a small voice rings from behind her. Surprised, Quinn turns around to face the small girl that Suyin had left in charge. As she scans her features she can tell she's at least seven inches taller than her. She could've easily been mistaken as a child. Her smile is small but it's warm, genuine unlike the directors. "Uhm," Quinn hums out nervously. "Hello?" she greets in a meek and unsure tone. "What's your name?"

"I'm Linnea," she speaks reaching out for her hand. "You must be Quinn. It's nice to meet you,"

Quinn's brows raise at the sound of her voice. "You," she says breathlessly. "You have an accent," she wants to slap herself from stating the obvious. If it wasn't rude, it was dumb if her to say. Linnea just lets out a nervous giggle in return. "I'm from Västerås," she informs her, only making Quinn more confused. "It's in Sweden,"

Quinn makes an "oh" shape with her mouth before awkwardly tugging her bottom lip under her teeth. Yes, the girl was sweet but the fact that she was being watched like a hawk made her feel anxious and unwanted. Linnea began to stroll down the hallway with her, meaning that the other agents were sure to follow eventually. They weren't that discreet about watching her every movement. "I'm also multi-lingual," Linnea continued to drone on as if she hadn't noticed that they were being watched. "I can speak Swedish, German, English, French, Russian, and Spanish,"

"That's a lot of languages," Quinn notes under her breath, trying her best to sound friendly. "My parents thought it'd be best to start at a young age,"

"That's the way to do it," she chirps back. She was only fluent in English which was her native language. She could speak parts of French and Spanish but didn't know that much. "Those must be your interesting facts, I take it," she hums out, gripping tighter on to her duffle bag as they passed a couple agents she knew were overlooking her. "Si," Linnea simply states, trying to showcase her skills. "What else do you know?" she questions trying to initiate small talk to the cadet.

Linnea sucks in a deep breath through her teeth as if she were having a hard time thinking. Quinn couldn't help but to judge. If she really knew all these languages she should be able to say something off the top of her head. "Мой день рождения семнадцать Июль," Linnea speaks.

As the sentence leaves her mouth a searing pain gathers in the back of Quinn's mind. Her hand instinctively reaches back to grab her head while hissing in pain. She couldn't understand why she felt an instant headache, it happened so suddenly. There was something familiar in what Linnea had said. She couldn't quite place it but she knew what she said. Or at least a part of it.

"Say that again," Quinn asks, finally overcoming the pain. "Мой день рождения семнадцать Июль?" she repeats in a questioning tone this time. Once again, another white hot pain slides from the back of her head to her spine. This time she conceals her pain much better, disguising it in a playful, out of breath chuckle. "That sounds so familiar," she chides. "You said the word July right?"

"It does," she responds with a curt nod. "I said my birthday is July seventeenth. Do you speak Russian?"

"No, it just sounds so familiar. It must've been on a commercial or something," Quinn guesses, trying not to alert the agents standing idly by. As they enter an elevator things become awkwardly quiet, perhaps it was just her nerves or maybe it was because Linnea knew who she was and didn't feel comfortable knowing that she's next to an ex Hydra sleeper agent. The elevator rings open, letting them pile out to a narrow hallway with a dozen doors.

"These are the dorm rooms," she informs Quinn, leading her down the hallway. From the looks of it, there were no agents here, leaving Linnea to fend for herself if she went rogue. She knew she wasn't going to go rogue but something inside her told her that her guide didn't feel that way. She opens a door revealing two beds on either side of the walls, one shared desk in the middle that was already taken up by a laptop and some books. "This is our dorm," Linnea states, letting Quinn walk in ahead of her as she looks around.

Both beds are pristinely made, no doubt a requirement of the academy. This was basically boot camp. She places her duffle bag on the bed against the left side of the wall, the one closest to the door, noting that the other bed had Linnea's belongings underneath. Laying on top of the thin, cotton bedding is a uniform that she was expected to wear. A basic grey t-shirt and navy blue gym shorts or pants. "Curfew is twenty-one hundred, wake up call is four hundred -"

"Four?" Quinn's voice quivers a bit as she reiterates her words. That early just for a few classes? Linnea nods her head adamantly. She sighs, she would just have to get in the habit of her rigid schedule. It was only for a few months. It would all be worth it. "Latrines are down the hall, we have to be at our first class by six hundred,"

"And breakfast?"

"Any time before six hundred," she affirms, watching Quinn's jaw tighten.

"I'm guessing the canteen isn't on this floor," she huffs out as she takes the grey shirt into her hands, reading the insignia that had been printed on its back.

"First floor," Linnea responds.

"Do you usually get food before class?"

"None of us really have time to," she nonchalantly responds, placing herself on the edge of her bed, shuffling her feet. "If you want to get dressed, I can tour you around the actual campus,"she suggests, watching Quinn as she picks up the grey shirt in her hands, and fiddling with it. She nods, quickly replacing her regular clothes as Linnea stares out the window to give her a little privacy (something she hadn't gotten much of since she arrived - and probably won't get until she leaves). After a few moments of examining herself in the mirror on the wall, and fiddling with her hair - the humidity had caused it to become frizzy - she was soon out the door with her dorm mate.

"So when did you start the academy?" Quinn asks, finally breaking their awkward silence. She couldn't stand being unpersonable towards her. "A few months ago," Linnea clucks after pondering for a moment. Her hand grips around the door handle, opening it to expose the outside area that she had called "the grounds".

The sun was beating down on her, the heat was swelling as she could feel her sweat start to head. Fall in Virginia was nothing like fall in New York. Her heart clenched in her chest. It was the first time she had actually come to think of New York since she arrived. A longing resonated inside her chest as if she were lonely. Not being near Rudolph, her mother or Steve made her feel anxious in a way. But this was no time for her to dwell on what she was missing, they were what she was fighting for. "When do you graduate?" she asks, continuing on with the conversation.

"Next year," Linnea hums out.

"Really? That long?" She was only supposed to be there for a few months, she didn't say this out loud in fear of upsetting the cadet who was silent as she took in the question before letting out a low chuckle.

"We have to train for at least a year," she answers before stopping shortly. "You're the special case. You worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. before coming here,"

Quinn raised her brows at this, before narrowing her eyes at the cadet. "How'd you know -"

"We were all briefed on you coming here," Linnea cuts her off, her tone shifting from optimistic to cool and harsh. "We know who you are, why you're here, and why you're only here for a few months than a year and a half,"

Quinn purses her lips. Her assumptions were correct. Everyone was staring at her like she was dangerous because they knew about her, they knew she was coming. No wonder she felt so out of place and unwelcomed. She was a _special case_ meaning she was going to be treated like dirt by her classmates. Special case was the last thing she wanted to be. "So then everyone knows about -" Quinn trails off as she stops mid step, looking towards the ground embarrassed.

"Hydra? Yes," Linnea confirms, giving her a questionable look. "The class was torn about you being here. Some were opposed about your presence, while others thought differently," she states as she begins to walk beside Quinn once again, leading her throughout the academy grounds.

"What about you?" Quinn speaks up. "What was your opinion?"

Linnea hesitates for a moment before a small glimmer of a smile appears, melting Quinn's defensive structure just for a moment. "Well, I believe everyone deserves a second chance and cannot be blamed for things they had no control over," she answers honestly. Quinn can't help but take in a heaving breath through her nose. She knew it wasn't supposed to mean much but it felt like a great deal to her to at least have someone on her side and forgive her. A stranger nonetheless. "Wow," she mouths, the word barely audible. "Thank you,"

It wasn't something she was expecting to hear after how she'd been watched since her arrival. To know that someone doesn't think she's a danger was a blessing. "So," her new form mate begins. "What did you do at S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

Quinn's blood stops cold, she can feel the color drain from her face. Of course she knew that she was in I.T. but she still couldn't remember everything that happened to her in her last few months. Her mouth feels dry as she tries to find the right words to explain herself. "I-I," she hesitates, her voice becoming somewhat shaky. She pulls her bottom lip between her teeth, gnawing on it nervously. Even though she was in a strict environment and they knew about Hydra she couldn't help but to be anxious about every new face she came I contact with. "I was in I.T.," she simply answers as if it had just come to her naturally. She just needed to convince herself that everything was fine and that no one noticed her inner panic.

Before she can say anything else a melodic beeping comes from within the building. At first Quinn begins to panic, thinking it's an alarm to alert her that something dangerous has come but Linnea nudges her arm. "Class is in session," she remarks, leading her towards the building where more cadets were trickling out of. Most steered clear of her, not even bothering to acknowledge her with a simple nod in greeting. She shrugs it off though, seeing as everyone was trying to get somewhere in a hurry.

Linnea guides her into a classroom that a few people had showed up to. She notes that the projection screen says Hostage Negotiation, in big bold letters along with a hypothetical question underneath. Something she truly didn't have an answer for. This would be a class that she'd have to cram for. "This way," Linnea's voice sounded different as she started to ascend the steps of the lecture room. Quinn follows behind like a lost puppy, unsure of where exactly they were headed.

Linnea offers her the seat to the left of her, next to a young woman who was already answering the question on the board. She gives her a smirk. She knew what she was doing, what she was trying to say. Make friends. She came to the academy with no intention of making friends but it would be helpful to try to get caught up with her classes, she knew she couldn't just rely on Linnea.

Although, her nerves were struck as she sat down next to the strange woman, the words of Linnea ringing in her mind. Not everyone wanted her here. Hopefully, she was kind like Linnea. A sheet of paper slides in front of her from the right. "Here's your schedule," Linnea speaks up, tapping her pencil to the side of the page. "There's six periods in one day, your first is physical training -"

"Do not eat before that class," the girl from beside her speaks up finally.

She peers over to see her chewing on a pen cap as she lazily looks over at the two. Quinn perks her brow up in question at her statement. "You're new, you'll vomit right away if you eat,"

"She has a point," Linnea sheepishly sighs out, gaining Quinn's attention. "It's best just to wait it out until lunch," she says with a half smirk, leaning back in her spot. Quinn merely nods her head taking in the helpful tip. Although she found it very ineffective to not eat before basic. IF she wanted to bring her A-game then, shouldn't she eat?

She shakes the fleeting thoughts of worry and doubt. She needed to find a new trust in her classmates. So far she knew she could trust Linnea, she couldn't help but clutch on to the fact that maybe Lena was okay with her too. However, she hadn't quite had enough conversation with her to know. She peers down at the board trying to read the question that she didn't quite understand. Squinting she could make out some of the words but none of it made any sense.

She grabs ahold of the stack of papers that Linnea was dragging around for her, Linnea watching her in question as she looks frantically to the board and then to an overturned sheet of paper that had her schedule on it. Linnea couldn't help but smile. This is what they had intended on her to do, come in, be quiet and learn. There was no fussing, there was no conniption, she just wanted to get this done. Linnea passes her a pencil, giving her a genuine nod of approval before watching her scribble down the question.

Her eyes dart over to Lena who wasn't paying attention to anything but the book in front of her. She had always been one to go further in the curriculum than what the professor had intended. She reached behind Quinn, giving Lena a solid tap on her shoulder, that had Lena looking towards her in a matter of seconds with a disgruntled look on her face. She tilts her head downwards, motioning towards Quinn who was still trying to figure out everything that was written on the board.

Lena makes an "Oh" shape with her lips, finally understanding what she wanted. She clears her throat before sliding her own notebook on to Quinn's desk. Confused, Quinn tilts her head up to see Lena, extending her notebook to her. An olive branch. "Did you want to copy my notes? I know you're new and you're coming into the middle of the term. I just thought it'd be helpful," she trails off. It was obvious that she wasn't used to this. Quinn takes the notebook, flashing her a friendly smile. "Thanks, but I don't have my notebook -"

"That's okay," Lena speaks up, throwing her off guard. "You could at least write the answer down on the board. Then I could give it to you when you actually have your notebook,"

"I'm sorry, I should've been more prepared. I didn't know I'd actually being going to class on my tour," she sheepishly apologizes. Lena shakes it off as if it were no big deal. "You could take it after classes are done today to get caught up, who's your dorm mate?"

"Me!" Linnea speaks up, flinging her hand up in the air as if she were proud. Quinn can't help but let out a nervous chuckle. "Okay, I can swing by your dorm and drop off anything you need to get caught up on," she offers with a humble smile. Quinn in turn tries to return the smile, thanking her in the process, before getting distracted by the group of men that had come in the classroom loudly, perching themselves in front of them.

Quinn quickly establishes that these might be the meatheads that could be found in any class, especially once she does a quick glance throughout the room to see that almost everyone except the men in front of them were keeping to themselves. She tries to duck her head, trying to go unnoticed by them. These people were, without a doubt, probably the people who didn't want her here - classifying her as dangerous.

Her discreetness doesn't last long as they begin cooing at Lena, begging her for her attention. Quinn can't help but to give her a glance as they catcall her, she was wearing a mildly panicked smile on her face. "Get lost, Rome," Lena states defensively towards the blonde man in the middle, making the most catcalls. "Come on, I thought you liked me," he whined in a thick accent, making Quinn twitch.

Everything about him and how he acted towards Lena wreaked of what Maddox was like towards her - she was just too blind to see it. However, she wasn't going to sit idly by and convince her to go on a date with him like Jo had with her. She could tell that she was uncomfortable. She quickly slides her sheet of paper towards Lena, drawing her attention away from the predatory man. "Hey, I'm not understanding what it means to find commonality between the fugitive and yourself. Can you help me?" she speaks up, quickly warding away any lingering conversation that the man had with Lena.

She didn't have to glance up to know he was throwing daggers at her with his glare. Lena huffs out a sigh as if she were trying to restart anew. "Certainly," she states, placing her hair behind her ears nervously as she tries to look over her question. Before she can even speak, a hand slams down in between the two, causing Quinn to jump in her seat. "Ahoy-hoy," the man - Rome - speaks up, a devilish smirk growing across his face. "Who's you're new friend?" he asks, trying to scoop up under Quinn's chin to get a better look at her. She quickly tears away from his grasp defensively, shooting him a glare. Unwanted touches by strangers were not welcome. "My name is Quinn," she spits out.

"Quinn?" he repeats, placing his arms across his chest, his gaze becoming more piercing and more deadly than before. "The girl who we were briefed about? The one who was possessed by Hydra?" he spits them out like questions that were too dirty to keep in his mouth, as if her name tarnished him by just saying it. Her cheeks become heated at his tone, his judgement of her was unparalleled by the kindness that she had received from earlier. "I-I wasn't possessed -" she stammers out, trying to clear the air of tension that Rome had created. He lets out a cruel chuckle before looking back down at her, "So you betrayed your country and the world purposefully?"

"N-no, that's not what I meant," she begins to stutter out of pure rage, trying to conceal the fact that she was seeing red at the moment. She tried to calm herself down. If she got into a fight with a guy her first day there was sure to be consequences, probably expulsion. She licks her lips as she tries to explain, "See I was brainwashed -"

"That's original," he snorts. "_'I was brainwashed into doing bad things and now I'm the nice girl',_" His friends begin to let out small snickers of enjoyment as they watched him ridicule her.

"But it's true -"

Her voice is cut off by the sound of a bell, letting them know that class was about to begin. Rome snickers as he places himself in the seat in front of her. "Oh jeez, all right," he concedes, throwing his arms up at his sides as if he were backing down. "Whatever you tell yourself to get you to sleep at night,"

Quinn opens her mouth to retort with a snarky remark but Lena beats her to it. "Rome, sweetie," she calls in a sickeningly sweet tone, begging for his attention. Once she receives it her modest and flirty facial expression turns into a scowl. "Do you ever know when to shut your mouth?" her tone is hot, like she was mad at him for Quinn, maybe she was judging.

Judging by the prominent frown on her face, it was apparent that she was irritated by the conversation. "It's called a raw and unfiltered, baby," he replies with a simple shrug of his shoulders and a wink. "Uh-huh," she sighs out, her frustration getting the better of her. "So you've deduced what on Quinn exactly?" she questions pointing her pen between the two of them. He locks his eye onto Quinn, showing how vile he was as he began defacing her character in front of everyone. "That's she's dangerous, with a high chance that she's faking it,"

Quinn lets out a dry laugh before challenging his intense glare with her own. "Faking being abducted and brainwashed by Hydra? Why would I be here then?" her tone is getting rather hostile and somewhat loud. "Because you're good at lying. Either to yourself or the all powerful Tony Stark who bought you a ticket here," he hisses causing her to roll her eyes.

So that's what he was more upset about. Her fast pass because of Tony Stark. She knew it'd boil down to this with some of her class mates, she didn't think it'd actually be said straight to her face, more like behind her back which she could deal with. However, her level-headed nature went out the window as soon as Rome started talking. "You do understand that I would have to be the dumbest Hydra agent to wind up in the academy right?" she hisses back at him.

"Or you could be the first of many planters. First S.H.I.E.L.D. now the FBI," he merely states, seeming bored with the conversation already. As soon as he turns around he whispers to his friend, loud enough that she could hear him, "They're really letting everyone in nowadays,"

"Oh," Quinn takes in a sharp inhale, the pen in her hand is shaking from how hot her blood felt in her veins. Linnea gave her a concerned look and then to Lena who returned it. "I'm going to _fucking throttle_ him,"

"Save it for basics!" Linnea coaxes her, placing a hand on her shoulder to ease her. Quinn takes in a deep breath, trying not to lose her absolute cool. She notes everyone has been seated and has quieted down as a man in a suit walks into the room, a cup of water clutched in his hand. Or at least she thought it was water. He looked scrawny, small, but more intelligent than anyone else in the facility. She couldn't believe he was an agent let alone a professor. Actually it made sense he was a professor, he had a scholarly look to him. But agent? Maybe he wasn't a field agent. But suggesting that this is a hostage negotiation class, he must've had field work.

"Good afternoon," he greets in a raspy voice, before taking a sip of his water. "My name is Professor Caulfield or Special Agent Bryan but most of you know that already," he introduces himself, a few heads perking up wondering what's going on. "I only say that because there's a new face in the class. I would introduce her but you guys already know who she is and we only have a limited amount of time to go over everything today,"

Quinn relaxes instantly in her seat. She didn't like the feeling of being put on the spot, it made her feel like she was back in school. Being an army brat she was used to presenting herself to the class, but it was always nerve wracking. It would've been more unnerving to do it during this class, since almost everyone seemed to dislike her presence or was at least wary of her being here. Following Linnea and Lena's cue, she begins taking notes on the lecture that Professor Caulfield was droning on about. Thankfully, the lights dim as a power presentation begins, demonstrating the power dynamics of negotiating with a fugitive.

Her head snaps up as he asks the first question of the class. "Can anyone tell me what's wrong with this picture?"

She squints as she looks at the old black and white news photo of a police officer, hiding behind the door of his car with a bullhorn. She looks from side to side to see the anxious yet waiting faces. She understood why she didn't understand it, she was new, but the class had been there for longer than she had, perhaps a good three or four months ahead of her. However, when she looked over at Lena and Linnea they both held bored expressions. Perhaps they did know the answer yet they didn't want to draw any attention to themselves.

Professor Caulfield purses his lips as he looks throughout the sea of confused or bored faces before moving on. A bit of his pride dying inside him. He clicks to the next slide to show a large red circle around the police officer. "This is clearly an untrained professional, trying to negotiate the terms and agreement that the fugitive is demanding, notice the bullhorn," he points the laser pointer in his hand, circling around the bullhorn clutched by the officer. "If you have arrived and an officer is doing this, take over immediately because this is how we lose control of a situation," he warns.

Out of the corner of her eye she can see Linnea writing down the information. She quickly follows, trying to keep up with the information. She knew Lena had offered to let her copy her notes down but she wanted to at least look busy and try to understand her notes herself instead of deciphering them. "In order to get into the perps mindset, we must think like him. Let's role play a little," Professor Caulfield states, plopping himself on the edge of his desk as he flips to the next slide. Quinn raises her brows as she looks at the image of the fugitive. The man looked disgruntled, with crazy eyes popping out of his skull and a poorly shaven beard. "This man has skipped out on several days worth of his medication, is prone to drinking," Professor Caulfield begins telling the story.

"There's a call of distress saying he's running rampant through a neighborhood with a rifle. The police are the first on the scene and he shoots and kills an officer. They shoot at him twice, it misses the first time and hits him in the thigh a second time. He grabs a ten year old child who is watching the scene unfold nearby and puts the rifle to his head and he's holed up in a suburban neighborhood infested with women and children," he lists off.

Quinn is surprised by the realness that he conveys. Either the story was true or he was really good at story telling and acting. "What's the first thing we must focus on?" he questions the class, once again looking optimistically through the crowd of faces who didn't look too eager to respond. His warm smile fades as he sees no one is apt to raise their hand. "If no one's going to volunteer, I'm going to start calling on people randomly," he sighs out frustratedly.

Quinn sinks lower into her seat. She knew he wouldn't pick on her but just the mere threat he was making made her anxious. This was just like school. In the front row a man timidly raises his hand, quickly followed by Professor Caulfield pointing at him. "Yancy?" he calls.

"Getting the hostages out?"

"No, that's the overall goal," he dismisses. "Rome?"

She narrows her eyes at the blonde haired man in front of her with his hand up. "Deescalation," he answers, earning an eye roll from her. Even his accent made her irritated. "Very good," Professor Caulfield praises, as he begins to stand up to emphasize his meaning. "Deescalation is key in these scenarios. We want the fugitive to remain calm and not make any rash decisions especially since there are lives at stake,"

Quinn tries to write down the information as fast as she can but the professor keeps droning on, giving her little to no time to write the answer down. "Let's go back to the chief of police," he states, flipping back a few slides to the police officer hiding behind his car door. "He starts bull-horning to reprimand the fugitive but instead this agitates him. The first mistake was, coming in with an "I'm right, you're wrong" attitude," he sips on his water as he flips forward to a new screen, labelled "I'm Right You're Wrong".

"This lets fugitive thinks he's on the same level of sane mind as the average person. What's the second thing we do?" Once again his eyes scour over his students but his gaze is met by a volunteer who's hand is raised high in the air. "Ren?"

"Establish communication,"

"Correct!" he yips out in excitement. "Non threatening communication. You'll be given a list of demands by the fugitive. But there's a rookie mistake that I can guarantee you all will make if you're not paying attention," he turns to face the class once again, placing his hands on his hips. "What do you think that is?" he questions. A girl in the front raises her hand. "Celia?"

"Give into the demands?"

"And?"

"Not actually listen,"

"Correct," he says, flipping to the next slide. "Conceal nothing, reject nothing, just listen. Listen to what they have to say. Try leveling with him instead of trying to dominate him. Look for common ground, find commonality. And if it feels like you're buying time, well, that's because are. But it's the key to making any perp feel heard -"

Professor Caulfield stops mid-sentence as the bell rings, alerting the cadets that it was time to move on to their next destination. According to Quinn's schedule she was headed to physical training. She shuffles her way through the row of seats, following closely behind Linnea. "Cadet Cruise," Professor Caulfield calls out to her as she descends the steps to head out of the door.

She gives Linnea a wavering look, as if she wanted her to stay with her which she responds with a nod, hanging back with Lena to wait by the door. "Professor Caulfield," she greets, extending her hand to shake his. "It's nice to finally meet you, cadet. We've heard a lot about you in the past couple of weeks. Preparing for your arrival,"

Quinn's lips press into a firm line. That's all she's been hearing all day. It was starting to become irritating. "I didn't know I was so special," she snorts out, trying to lighten her comment with a nervous laugh. She shifts uncomfortably as her professor eyeballs her, like he was analyzing her. She took note that even though he was a professor, he didn't seem much older than her. He may as well have been Steve's age, but resembled nothing like him. He was slim, lanky, with shiny dark hair that swept over neatly.

"I know it may not seem like a very warm welcome but I wanted to let you know that I'm willing to help you catch up in my class if you have time," he offers, forcing himself to seem more open than anyone else who she's met. "How do you like it so far?" he questions, leaning on the side of his desk.

"The class?" she wonders aloud, watching him nod his head. She perks up immediately. "It's interesting. I didn't know there was so much psychology going in to understand everything," she comments.

"You'd be surprised how many people we've caught because if psychic evaluation. How many fugitives we've stopped because they all have a somewhat similar pattern," he trails off, looking wistfully up to the rows of desk, throwing her off. "Just imagine what we could do if we had someway of knowing who was going to develop into being a criminal. How much time we would save if we could stop it immediately,"

Her blood freezes at the mere mention of the description. Her heart sinks a little in her chest. She thought he genuinely was looking out for her but it turned out that he was just like the rest of the people here. He wanted to know more about her time with S.H.I.E.L.D. and what exactly her experience was like being brainwashed with Hydra. Her lips pull into a small frown."Like Insight?" she spits out, her tone hot with judgment.

It forces him to look over to her to see the scowl on her face. He returns her pursed lipped frown, almost seeming embarrassed that she had caught on so quickly - or maybe his eyes hinted that he was sorry for even bringing up her past on their first meeting. He turns around behind him, and spins back around with a thick book in his hands. "Here," he offers her. She gives him a cautionary glance before grasping on to the book. "This will help you in the long run to get caught up,"

Quinn nods her head as a thank you, looking over the slick cover of the book. "And if you ever want to swing by and let me pick at your brain -" he watches her eyes widen before shooting him a defensive glare. His mouth opens and closes like a fish gasping for water before he can find his voice. "Not literally of course, it's awful what they did to you," he adds with an apologetic tone. She doesn't stop glaring at for a few moments, it was his turn to feel uncomfortable under her gaze and in her eyes he deserved it. "Thanks," she mumbles, placing the book under her arm with the rest of her paperwork.

She gives him a slight wave before heading back to Lena and Linnea who were in a casual conversation near the door. They perk up as they see her approach, Linnea giving her an odd look as she reads her confused facial expression. "What?" she questions Quinn as they follow her out of the room. She shakes the thoughts of Professor Caulfield giving her the creeps. "That was...weird? Does he seem off to you guys?" she questions, following their lead, out of the building.

"Eh, he's always like that. You'll get used to it," Linnea shrugs off as if it were no big deal. As soon as she steps outside she's greeted with the humidity once again, swallowing her whole and leaving no room for her to breathe without it sounding like a gasp. She always hated the thick air that came with the territory of being in the south, she couldn't understand how people lived like this - how she lived like this at one point in time.

"Can I ask you an important personal question?" Lena asks, drawing her attention to her instead of focusing on how hot it was outside. "Uh-" is the only sound she can make before Lena jumps into the conversation. "What's up with you and Captain America?"

There it was, the million dollar question. Linnea hits the side of her arm, causing her to hiss in pain. "Lena!" she scolds in an authorive tone. Lena sticks her bottom lip out in a half pout, looking between her and Quinn with pleading eyes. "What? That's what everyone is wondering. It's all the buzz around the campus," she exclaims defensively as if she hadn't done anything wrong. Quinn tries to stifle a low chuckle as she looks at Lena who looked like a toddler about to throw a temper tantrum. Linnea pinches the bridge of her nose and lets out an exasperated sigh, "But that's her relationship -"

"It's no problem, Linnea," Quinn interrupts, holding a hand up to stop her from talking - she didn't mean this to be rude. She shrugs her shoulders at the comment. "Things between Steve and I are fine. Nothing is official or anything. We're just two friends who like each other," she replies nonchalantly, as if this were a routine thing for her.

"So you're dating?" Lena pries, making Quinn's cheeks hot with embarrassment as she thinks about Steve wanting to be with her. A little pang of sadness rings throughout her chest as she remembers that he's at least a thousand miles away at home, awaiting her long return just as she had with him. Was this what homesickness felt like?

"I mean, I guess. We haven't put a label on anything yet. It's still developing," she explains, suddenly missing the comfort of being around or near Steve. This was different than when he went on missions. She never had control of where or when he could go, here she did and she chose to come here with his blessing. He wanted to see her happy, he wanted her to be here. He was going to be fine without her for the next few months, her mother was getting taken care of, Robin was fine. Yet there was something else holding her back, she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"So give us the deets on him," Lena pries for more information on him, like it was school girl gossip. "What?" she says aloud, her mind running blank on what more she could possibly expose of her and Steve's relationship. "Is he as hot in person as he is in pictures? Is he as nice as he seems? On a scale of one to ten how muscley is he?"

"Lena!" Linnea scolds, watching a frown unfurl on her lips. "What! I'm just curious,"

"It's fine, really. I've had more invasive questions asked," Quinn shyly remarks, trying to calm them down. Maybe if she rattle off more information about Steve they'd calm down. Even though Linnea acted as if she wasn't interested she knew she was just as hungry for information as Lena was - she was just more polite and patient. "He's probably the nicest and most genuine person I've ever met. He's not afraid to admit when he's wrong and apologizes immediately if something is wrong - even if it's not his fault or if it's beyond his control,"

"So how'd you meet?" Lena continues to ask freely. Quinn swallowed hard as she tries to wrack her mind for any information or even glimpses of what had happened when she first met him. No matter how hard she strained, she couldn't remember a damn thing. "S.H.I.E.L.D. The exact happening, I'm not to sure of. It's still kind of fuzzy. But from what he's told me we kind of had this student teacher thing going on -"

"Scandalous," Lena teases with a brow wiggle, causing her to let out a nervous snort in laughter. "Not like that. I don't know. When I met back up with him after everything that happened it just felt like we had this pre-established connection that felt so warm and safe. I didn't want to let it go and apparently neither did he," she sighs out thinking about Steve. She appeared to be lost in thought causing the other two women to roll their eyes at her. "That's like one of the cutest things I've heard," Lena states, interrupting her daydream. An obvious blush crosses her cheeks. "It's really nothing. Just your typical relationship stuff," she attempts to divulge the conversation into something else.

She was used to getting questioned about Steve but she didn't feel right without being near him as well. It made her mourn for her place back in New York. She hugged the sides of her shirt, trying to ease her comfort as she edged closer to what appeared to be an obstacle course with Lena and Linnea.

Tall walls, swinging ropes, nets that prevented anyone from going across unless they shuffled their body underneath. Robin was right when they said it'd be like training at a police academy but stricter. Just looking at the sheer faces of the wooden structures that they would have to attempt to shimmy up made her hands ache. She could practically feel the blisters starting to burn now.

"Welcome to Basics," Linnea whined out under her breath, clasping her shoulder and stifling back a chuckle as Quinn's frown grows larger. So Basics was basically boot camp - or basic training. This would be a challenge since she didn't really have that much experience in this field. It had been years since she's seen an obstacle course. "Just follow everything Agent Whitman says and then you'll fly under the radar," Lena advises while stretching her arms behind her shoulders. Quinn can't help but narrow her eyes at the cadet.

"Keeping a low profile for me is going to be hard," she grumbles out, trying to mimic what she was doing as she looked and saw other cadets stretching as well. With all the stress she was carrying in her muscles it was hard to get loose and limber like her fellow cadets. Even if she tried all the various poses she could think of to stretch she couldn't get all the cricks out of her system. If anything it only caused her more stress.

She was becoming a little less worried about the obstacle course until she heard a familiar chuckle coming up from behind her. As she stretched her leg, she looked behind her to see none other than Rome and his collection of goons that had grown in their numbers since her last class with him. She scoffs and rolls her eyes, evading their glares and snickers.

"Ah, god," she hisses out under her breath, shaking her head slightly as she hears footsteps approaching. "So, rift-raft, any good at the physical labors of being an agent?" Rome's irritating voice questions her. She couldn't contain the frustration in her voice as she whispered, "Sonuva bitch."

She turns to see that he was standing directly behind her, a smug, judgmental, smile on his face while his arms were crossed against his chest. She huffs out an irritated sigh as she gives him a bored look. "Hello, Rome," she says in a monotone voice, not wanting to spite him or create any more bad blood between the two. She just wanted to be left alone. He bites down on his bottom lip, gauging her unenthusiastic tone to his advantage.

He hooks his arm around her shoulders, taking her by surprise as he forces her to look out into the obstacle course. She squeaks in protest at the sudden movement. "You see that scoreboard over there?" He points out into the course where a dark board with at least twelve name were written across it in bright white chalk, along with a numeric rankings system. She nods her head as she curiously looks between him and the board. "That's the rankings of the top cadets and their scores. The higher you are, the more of a chance you have at becoming an agent,"

"As opposed to what?" Quinn questions, hastily throwing his arm off of her and taking several steps away from him. He shrugs and puts his hands in his pockets nonchalantly. "A professor, a secretary. Only the best of the best get on that board. See who's at the top?" He points out to the board a second time. Her eyes narrow, trying to see who's scribbled in to first place. She rolls her eyes as she realizes she shouldn't be surprised that he's marked up there.

"Cadet asshat?" she remarks as she sees the initials "A. Rome" engraved on the top. "Very good," he patronizes in a cooing baby tone. He gives her cheek a small pinch, which she quickly slaps his hand away, giving him a glare in the process. This man had it out to get it. If there weren't so many witnesses around she'd have half a mind to put an end to this relentless teasing with a quick pop to his jaw. "I'll enjoy not seeing your name up there, rift-raft," he huffs out a taunt. "Unless daddy's money can pay your way into have a position as an agent,"

"Are you implying that Tony Stark is going to make me an agent?" Quinn growls.

"I'm not implying anything. The only thing I'm implying is that you're not good enough to be up there," he shrugs off his comment as if it were nothing, as if it didn't leave a searing pain in her chest. She already felt bad enough as it was to skate through the interviews and application process of getting into the academy, she didn't need it rubbed in her face.

A small part of her wonders if he was right though. If she never got her name up on the board would she still become an agent? Was Tony truly that powerful with the government? A sharp piercing whistle sounds off, drawing the students attention to form a single file line up in the grass overlooking the course.

Quinn was quick to follow everyone's lead, coming in between Lena and Linnea once again. Their posture was straight to the point they almost looked like statues, their gaze facing forward and not breaking their eye contact from whatever point they were looking at. She tries to mimic them as best as she could but she didn't have the trained concentration that they did. An older man passes by them, eyes narrowing at her as he passes by. This must be the professor of the class, getting a good look at her. He was definitely older than Professor Caulfield, more intimidating to say the least.

"Good afternoon cadets," he barks out, surprising her with how deep his voice was. Everything about him radiated power. Power that he knew he possessed. He was unbelievably intimidating from afar. The group responded to his greeting, leaving Quinn mumbling out the words with them. He scans the line up of cadets, looking for an easy target. Of course, it'd be her. She notices him stalking over towards her, a scowl across his face. She starts to panic internally. She didn't feel like getting ridiculed in front of everyone.

She doesn't take her eyes off of the obstacle course, even when he's standing directly behind her. "What's your name cadet?" he questions out loud, his voice surprisingly soft considering how intimidating he looked. "Quinn Cruise," she answers in a softer tone, barely audible. He furrows his brows as he looks at her, clearly she was nervous about the proximity he was in. She didn't dare make eye contact with him. "Quinn Cruise, what?" he reiterates, placing his hand to his ear as if he were deaf.

"Cadet Quinn Cruise, sir," she answers obediently, in a strict tone almost as if she were a soldier. He gives her a once over before placing his hands behind his back and continues prowling the line up. "I may be considered a professor here but the cadets call me Sarge or Sargent Whitman because I sound like a drill Sargent," he continues to inform her while look at each individual he passes.

"It's important for you to know that it is my job for me to whip you and every other cadet into shape in order to serve for this great nation. I will do that by my terms and if you don't like them you don't pass," he says as he starts to stalk his way back to her. She can feel his presence as she can smell the sweat building up on his brow and under his arms. The Virginian sun was not kind to him. His skin was starting to look like a brown leather bag. Yet she kept her eyes facing forward.

"You can run to Director Suyin all you want but she'll tell you the same as she's told the others who have come to her, it's not her problem dealing with the directions of Basics. She has more on her plate than to listen to a cadet whine to her about how mean I can be. Keep your comments to yourself. Am I clear cadet?"

"Yessir," she barks back obediently. Focusing her gaze on the obstacle course was starting to put a strain on her eyes but she didn't dare take her eyes off it for a moment. Whitman's jaw clenches for a moment before he turns on his heel to walk the opposite direction. Quinn tries to hold in her relief. She had no idea Basics was going to be that intense nor did she know the kind of punishment she'd receive if she didn't act like a perfect cadet.

"All right, cadets, you know the drill. Complete the obstacle course. Remember no dirty play, I will be watching you. Don't be afraid to help others but also remember that your initial time is on the line," he rolls through the instructions. All cadets stayed in their neat, single file line up, not daring to look to one another even with the professors relaxed tone. "We'll go in groups of five. I'll count out the teams. Cadet Johnson start it off," he commands the first man on the left, who quickly follows with a taut, "One!"

Quinn notes how the obstacle course is set up, trying to come up with the best strategy to overcome it as fast as she could. Her eyes flicker over to the scoreboard that the charming Rome had pointed out to her earlier. If she wanted to be as successful as any other the leaders on the board she'd have to give it her all. She didn't even see Lena or Linnea on the board.

"Five!" she sounds out as the professor points his finger at her in succession. She lets out a soft grumble to herself. Lena or Linnea wouldn't be on her team, she'd be racing against them - along with members of her own team. However, she was happy though, she was on the last squad to go, she could see exactly how everyone navigated the field, determining whether what she should do or how she could handle it.

She could finally see how good Lena and Linnea were, hopefully they'd outshine Rome. What she would give to see his reaction to being bested by one of them, or even herself, the thought made her giddy. "Square up into your squads. Get acquainted. These people will either make or break your time," Sargent Whitman commands, breaking the line up.

"Squad one. Step up," he states, pointing to a position near his foot close to the beginning of the course. Linnea gives Quinn a quick pat on the back as she heads forward to join her squad. As she turned she could already see Lena running ahead to join her group as they started to collect in single file lines, waiting for their turn to run. Quinn purses her lips as she forces herself to move forward.

She couldn't help but once again feel anxious, not knowing how many people would like her presence in their group. If anything, Rome had made it apparent that least most of the cadets didn't like her being amongst them. As she strolls down to the very end she can hear snickering coming from part of her group. She questioningly looks over at her group only for her curious stare to diminish into a glare. Her eyes resting on Rome's conceited face as he laughs with two other members of the group while the fourth member just stands behind them, not paying attention.

Once he catches her gaze, his normal, cheerful eyes turn into a positively nasty glare, the smirk on his face growing wider and wider as he eats up her figure as if this was the first time seeing her. He whispers something to his friends, while looking at her, causing her to scoff and cross her arms. She merely directs her gaze somewhere else, anywhere other than directly in front of her. She couldn't take looking at Rome.

He reminded her of Maddox but more aggressive, less friendly. Another asshole that Steve was sure not to be fond of. He would certainly disapprove of her treatment. "I thought this wasn't high school," she hisses out as she feels Rome's presence standing behind her now instead of leading the group. "It's not," he simply responds. The first time he isn't snarky to her. She felt as though it was a trap. "Then why are you acting like every privileged jock in a high school movie?"

"Why are you acting like you're above it all?" he counters, as he casually sways to stretch behind her.

"Since when have I acted above it all?" her tone is just above a whisper but high pitched, as if she was recoiling from an insult. "Didn't need to," he replies. Every word coming out of his mouth sounded vile, demeaning every inch of her character. She wasn't stuck up, she knew she felt out of place here. The constant reminder of Tony Stark getting her in here burned in the back of her mind. Maybe she wasn't cut out for this.

Sargent Whitman narrows his eyes over to their squad, shaking his head with disapproval with how unorganized they were. Immediately everyone steps into form a line behind whoever was in front, Rome rounding out the back half. It was almost their turn to run the course. Her blood was boiling, she needed someway to relieve herself from this stress or else she'd end up punching Rome.

"Don't mess this up," Rome's voice whispers in her ear, she can feel his hot breath on her neck. An involuntary shiver ran down her spine. She didn't like the close proximity of him, but she knew he had noticed the shiver as he chuckled lowly to himself. It must've been delicious to him to see her shifting uncomfortably at his presence. "I wasn't planning on it," she hisses back, trying to focus on what squad four was up to.

"I hope you're as good as you're leading on,"

"I haven't been saying I'm terrific at anything. Where is this coming from?" she questions exasperatedly, turning around to glare at him.

He returns the glare with a slight smirk. "Well, the all mighty Tony Stark sees something in you -"

"Okay, bring up Tony Stark one more time. I dare you," she spins around to face him, face to face. A scowl appearing on her face, her face beginning to get hot from the frustration and irritation he was causing her. "Or what?" he responds, one of his brows perking up at the questioning tone. "You'll punch me? That's the fastest ticket out of here. So please by all means, have at it," he challenges, spreading his arms open for her to take the first swing, as if he welcomed it. And oh how desperately she wanted to punch him right in his square jaw. She craved to hear to crunching sound of his nose under her fist. But she couldn't bring herself to do it. She could only image the disappointment in Steve if he found out the reason she was expelled from the academy and living on minimum wage while trying to support her mother wasn't going to get her very far.

After a moment of debating on it, while glaring at the blonde haired boy, she spun around back to face her normal position towards the front. "You're a prick," she mutters under her breath. "And you're a diva," he mutters in response just as squad four arrives back, muddy with tussled hair. Lena looks as if she had been through hell as she hunches over, collecting herself as she takes heaving breaths to get caught up, her cheek was sure to be bruised underneath the mud that was scraped across her face.

Quinn couldn't help but swallow the large nervous lump in the back of her throat. She hadn't planned on such physical activity her very first day but there was no way to opt out, especially with Rome's judgmental eyes on her. "Squad five, hustle," Whitman barks at them, whistle dangling in his mouth. It was as if she had blacked out from adrenaline that was starting to pour in because she couldn't recall how she got to the actual starting line. She was taken back by the sheer size of the obstacles course and how many areas it had.

The first one was probably where everyone was getting their bruises, as she looked at the netted surface that she had watched the cadets before her squad crawl under. Not exactly like crawling under barbed wire like she had thought they'd done in the movies, but still intimidating. Especially since the next obstacle was a sheer wall she would have to shimmy up and over. She instantly felt as if she was going to vomit as she shifted down to the starting position just as everyone else had. She wasn't prepared for this, she wasn't prepared at all.

Her mind kept going straight to panic mode as she tried to shift her focus on the course ahead. But this was something she had to do, something she was required to do. She couldn't pass this up and go home. She needed to be on that board. Maybe not today but eventually. Her eyes focused back on the muddy terrain in front of her, littered with countless footprints of the other cadets.

The shrill piercing sound of a whistle rang out through the air, causing the hair on the back of her neck to stand on edge. And just as she did back in D.C. with racing against Maddox, she took off. Only a few of her fellow squad mates were in front of her, one happened to be Rome who was crawling halfway through before she could even begin. Her jaw clenched. He had been right. He was more athletic than her but she couldn't let that weigh her down at the moment. She was too busy trying not to be suffocated by the mud that was surprisingly deep underneath the net. No wonder everyone had mud stains all over their uniforms.

She would definitely have to wash her hair clear of the dirt when she retreated back to the dorms. She pushed herself further until she was clear of the net, passing by two of her squad mates. Her eyes sized up the wall, before she jumped up, barely clinging on to it's surface as she shimmied sideways across it. She struggles to move her body across it, finally her grip releases, sending her falling to the mud below. She lets out a surprised yelp before wincing at the shattering pain coming from her tailbone.

"Cadet Cruise, get a move on!" she can hear Whitman's voice all the way from the beginning. A feverish blush of embarrassment climbs up her cheeks as she realizes she's the center of attention during this race. She was the newbie that people weren't accustomed to seeing, aside from Rome being in first people had to be watching her face off against him. She grimaced as she stood on her feet before tackling the next obstacle. The two poles laying vertically and elevated were an easier target than the wall. All she needed to do was build up enough speed to hop across the two beams, and stick the landing. Which seemed easier in theory but when her foot connected with the beam, she hadn't taken into consideration that it was shopping wet with mud from the previous cadets stomping on it.

Her body involuntarily wobbles for a moment, before she steadies herself and looks towards the higher beam. She stretches across to it, hoisting herself on top and straddling it before jumping back down. A tactic she hadn't seen other cadets use and for good reason, she was barely coming in third at the moment. She pushes herself forward, not letting her time discourage her. She needed to prove herself worthy to be here. She able to get through the next step with ease - hurdles. She had done track and field back in school and hadn't quite forgotten how high she was to jump in order to not get tangled up in the mess. Her feet barely skim across the last hurdle, but luckily she's made up some time and was nearing the cadet in second place.

Her eyes widen at the next obstacle though, a wall of braided rope that she had to crawl through. Rome had just begun his accent on the rope course. If he was able to do it, she was able to as well. That was her mantra that she kept chanting over in her head. "Honestly," she hisses under her breath in frustration as she clings on to the flimsy rope cord which bounces with each step. It didn't help that Rome and the other cadet were also on the obstacle, it made it more difficult with the tugging sensation coming from in front, causing her to lose her footing a couple of times.

She lets out a brief sigh of relief as she hops off of the obstacle along with the cadet in second place. She pumps her legs as fast as she could to get in front of him, barely passing him as they approach the next step. An odd looking staircase that lead up and immediately down, which was quite easier than she thought as she was able to skip steps with the momentum she had built up. The tires were also an easy triumph for her as well.

She was almost catching up to Rome. A smirk places itself on her lips as she remembers the nasty words that he had said to her. How she shouldn't be good enough to be here. She was about to prove that she was. Her lungs burned as she reached the ropes. She didn't have time to stop for them. She had to pass the other cadet, she had to beat Rome and the rest of the cadets weren't too far behind.

She leaped, latching on to the swaying rope and fell to the ground after letting go, causing her right shin to get scraped up. She cries out in pain and tries to examine it. "Cadet Cruise! Hustle!" Whitman's voice pierces the air, causing her to feel the embarrassment heating her cheeks once again. She hauls herself back up as she begins running with a gait. Her injury was causing her pain but eventually she goes numb to the pain but can still feel the limp in her run.

By now she can see Rome and the other cadet standing behind the finish line. Rome looking like a tyrant king as he gives her a shit eating smirk. A wave of disappointment floods over her as she crosses the finish line. She had failed her goal.

"Time! Seventeen-thirty-seven. Nice work cadet," Whitman comments, his eyes still trained on the two other cadets on the course. Lena and Linnea, swarm to her aid as she collapses to the ground, trying to assess her scrape. It's not deep but it's seeping with blood that must've been pushed out by her legs pumping as hard as she could.

"That looks wicked," Lena notes causing her to roll her eyes. "Thanks," she mumbles out, attempting to touch her wound but the searing pain causes her hand to retract back as a flinch. She hisses in pain. It would've been nice to know that this could happen on her first day. She would've prepared better for any physical activity before coming instead of eating whatever she wanted. "What was your time?" Linnea questions.

"Seventeen-thirty-seven," she answers breathlessly.

"You're in ninth," she announces.

"What?" Quinn asks, still panting as confusion litters her eyes. She quickly looks over to the board that Rome had pointed out to her earlier. The one she had labelled as the agent board. She squints as she looks at the time in ninth place. Seventeen-forty-two. Three spots above last place and however many more ahead of those who haven't made it on the board. A smile makes its way to her face but it's quickly diminished by Rome's irritating voice.

"That's bullshit!" he hisses out, his arms crossing against his broad chest. "She's only up there because she worked for Hydra,"

Rome's harsh words had caught the attention of other cadets who seemed to be looking at him with approval, and then to her with unsteady and judgmental gazes. This is exactly what she didn't want to happen. To be the center of attention, to be known as a danger to the academy. Rome stalked closer to her, his lips pulled in a frustrated frown. He then gazes around to the cadets watching him have a moment, taking in their attention like it was vital for him. "Would we have even let her in if she wasn't sleeping with Captain America?" he questions, his voice progressively becoming louder and louder.

Quinn gnaws on her bottom lip. Of course, everyone knew that she was dating Steve now thanks to the paparazzi. Whoever tipped them off was on her shit list. "We've all worked hard to be here and I'm not going to let you just skate on by like life is just so easy for you," Rome informs her, his voice dropping in tone. This sounded more like a threat than anything.

Her mind wandered to the possibility that she could be injured or assaulted in her sleep. Or worse. She didn't want to stick out like a sore thumb, she didn't mean to. She just saw an opportunity presented by Tiny Stark and she couldn't refuse. She had to keep in mind that she wasn't doing this for herself, her mother was on the line. That didn't stop the tears starting to prickle her eyes.

"I-I-" her voice was caught in her throat. She couldn't even form a single sentence to defend herself. She was totally caught off guard by the disapproval of her classmates she was receiving. "Cadet Rome!"

The cadet falls silent, his face softening at the commanding tone of the Sargent beckoning his name. It was as if he were a child who had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Sargent, sir -" Rome tries to explain himself as he whips around to face the older agent whose face looks too bored to care for his explanation.

"We all acknowledge she worked with Hydra," Whitman cuts him off curtly with an authoritative voice. His eyes flicker between the top cadet and Quinn, who was sitting behind him, attempting to cover her wound. "But you will not demean another cadet on my watch. Am I clear?" he spits out, waving a finger in front of his face.

"Yessir," Rome replies in a firm tone, not looking into his eyes, but his posture becomes rigid and straight as if he were a board. Whitman's eyes glaze over the rest of the cadet's that were standing around. "That goes for the rest of you as well. New times will be posted tomorrow,"

Whitman dismisses his attention from Rome while taking a couple steps closer to Quinn. She looks up at him with a slight frown of discomfort. The nagging feeling of being in trouble itches at the back of her mind as his eyes bore down on to her. "Cadet Cruise. I'll be damned you impressed me. You're not as little as you look but don't expect me to fight all your battles," he states, in as nonchalant of a voice a drill sargent could have.

"Cadet Nilsson escort Cruise to the medic," he instructs her dorm mate, pointing down to her. In one swoop, Linnea wraps her arm around her shoulder, hoisting her up to her two feet. She may not have been that injured but it wasn't like she was going to refuse Linnea's help. She pauses as she reaches her full height, looking at the sargent with confusion. She couldn't understand why he stood up for her. Especially since no one really wanted her there. Perhaps it was the principle that he was trying to make. "You may be a good solider after all," is all he can say as he dismisses the two.

"Thank you, sir,"

* * *

Oh my, I'm sorry for how long this chapter is but there was a lot that needed to happen in this chapter. I wasn't going to let Quinn just go through the academy without any trouble.

Bam! Now y'all know what one of Quinn's Hydra trigger words are. Also another showing of Quinn saying (ง'̀-'́)ง these hands are rated E for everyone.

Get professor Caulfield's name? Get it? Because it's a hostage negotiation class. And people who watch Mind Hunters know the the hostage negotiators name is Holden Ford - and another famous Holden is Catcher in the Rye Holden Caulfied. And and and his first name is Bryan because the other hostage negotiator I know of is Connor from Detroit Become Human and the actor for Connor his name is Bryan Dechart. And yeah. Woo.

Now for the nitty gritty. I know this time has/is still going to be difficult for everyone, with the virus and all. I live in New York and my state along with most other states have been placed under a shelter in place order. We are the leading state with the most cases and deaths, right now we're almost at 150 thousand cases. A lot of people have taken the shelter in place order to write a whole lot but unfortunately my real job as a medical assistant requires me to still work. I know I said I was going to come back regularly starting this week but I don't have time to continually post weekly at the moment. I will try to post what chapters I already have written but I don't have that many written ahead.

I'm probably going to sound like a broken record to everyone at this point but, the virus is transmitted through contact so keep social distancing. Do not go to the store unless you absolutely need to and when you do take precautions, wear gloves, wear a mask, and wear eye wear. I also know there are a shortage of masks for people to wear, the CDC has posted an article on how to fashion your own mask together, I've been telling people to wear jackets that zip all the way up to their chin so they can pull it up past their nose. Wash your hands past your wrists, recite the alphabet or the birthday song - ANYTHING that last 20 seconds or longer. The CDC has also posted an article on good washing techniques (do not forget to thoroughly wash the backs of your hands because that's the main place people skim over). Don't be that person who is stocking up on toiler paper or hand sanitzer, or the kind of person who coughs or sneezes to get their way - I don't know if it's a thing in other countries but you can now be arrested and fined for coughing on someone in public. If you're travelling, and this only applies to essential employees, have your employer write a letter excusing you for driving so you don't get a ticket because that's a thing now as well.

Other than that, stay inside, stay safe, don't be in voluntary groups (your family of four+ does not count, you're stuck with them) larger than three people and you all have to be six feet apart. If you want something to do in quarantine binge watch shows, watch movies - right now is a great time to binge the entire Marvel franchise, read a book, write a book, paint and draw freely, do a paint by numbers, learn how to dance - specifically the Goblin King dance from Labyrinth, play a video game, learn an instrument, spend endless amounts of time watching funny videos. Do anything but actually be around people because there are people's lives on the line.


	44. CHAPTER XLIV

**CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR**

**(** MISSING **)**

**QUINN HAD BECOME accustomed to the** strict regiment of the academy. No talking out of turn, no sneaking out, no fighting. Get the best scores in the class. That was the main goal of every cadet. The constant sound of gunfire was a new norm to her. If she closed her eyes she could imagine that there was a distant battle of good versus evil happening. Luckily, it was just the firearm's course. Something she hadn't excelled at. Hitting targets was a lot harder than what they appeared to be.

Natasha and Blair made it look so easy in the archived footage of the S.H.I.E.L.D. website. To her it just was unnatural. The targets were too real for her, even if they were made out of wood and paper. The worst kind of target practice was when they used dummies. Something about it didn't settle well in her stomach. Especially since she envisioned most of them being actual targets, living, and breathing people. Of course, they were trained to never engage in any hostile activity with their guns ablaze but there were always the rare times that they could. She still couldn't imagine shooting anything, let alone a human being.

Although, from the stories she's been told, she had taken a few shots at Natasha when she was under Hydra's control. This was also a fear of hers. If she actually did become a good shooter, if Hydra came back she'd be even more dangerous as before. Hopefully they wouldn't find her but since she was with Steve there is always a high probability that they might and that they will approach her. There was an upside to her training. If Hydra did find her, she would be ready, or else she would go down in a fight. She could never be the helpless damsel once again, she would rather die than have Hydra be in control. It's not like Steve would ever let her out of his sight for Hydra to take over as well.

Even being at the academy for the past couple of weeks he's managed to call her almost everyday to give her an update on what happened and how Rudolph was managing. According to him she had let Rudolph go soft, and grow a little belly. Steve has been taking him on jogs through Central Park, carrying him back home after he was tired. She couldn't understand how Rudolph kept pace with him. Maybe Steve actually slowed down for a change, it must drive him nuts.

He'd tell her how much he's missed her and she'd return the gesture but at this point everything was just words, she couldn't help but wonder if he actually missed her. He definitely wasn't missing the paparazzi following him around and being a nuisance in their relationship and it seemed like the eye catching articles about their relationship ceased after that night. There was no need information to feed to those vultures. This was the right time to let their relationship grow, flourish even.

Why did it feel strained? Was it the distance? Was it the constant communication? Could this have been just a fling?

The butterflies in her stomach told her no but her mind screamed a solid maybe. She just wished that she hadn't left so soon. Maybe that's what put the strain on them. They hadn't even been together for a couple weeks before she was shipped off to Quantico. It wasn't like she wanted to talk that much after her day. Most of her classmates disliked her being there, especially Rome who liked to make her life hell. Whether it be just insulting her under his breath in class or just giving her snide looks every time she spoke in class, something about him made her feel unsettled. She hadn't told Steve about it although a part of her desperately wanted. Yet a small voice in the back of her mind told her not to, that she'd just sound annoying if she were to tattle on Rome.

Besides, if she did tell him about Rome, he could tell Stark, Stark would tell Yvette, Yvette would tell Suyin, and then he'd have some sort of lecture causing him to lash out even more. All she'd be doing would be painting a large target on her back to the other cadets. She was pretty sure her score in Basics had already done that though. She had moved up a couple spots to seventh, booting out two cadets.

She didn't even see Lena or Linnea on the board. Yet, they still socialized with her. Linnea had to, she was her dorm mate but Lena was around for whatever reason. Maybe she thought she was an easy target too and she didn't like to see her get ragged on, she definitely stood up for her to Rome a lot more than Linnea. That could be another reason as to why she's sticking around, it appeared that Rome was interested in her and by gluing herself to her side she'd be the main subject of attention that Rome gave if he ever wandered over to them.

He could hate her all he wanted but she needed to pass the semester. She wasn't just coming here for herself, she was doing this to help her mother and it wouldn't hurt to have a little more cash in her bank. It's ironic that she has to put her life on the line in order to make more money but she's willing to do it despite Steve's protest against it. She was her own person and protecting everyone she loved was above anything in her moral code. Now she could be saving more people.

"Earth to Quinn," Linnea hisses in a whispering voice snapping her out of her trance. She takes in a deep breath as ash tries to adjust her senses to the sudden voice of her dorm mate. These early hours and strenuous work were starting to get the better of her. She perked a brow up as she looked at Linnea who just jutted her head in the direction of Professor Caulfield. Her posture immediately straightened up. She had almost completely forgotten that they were in the middle of a hands on training exercise with Professor Caulfield. They had traded out their normal lecture hall desks for a smaller gymnasium - the smallest she'd ever seen, complete with blue mats that muffled their footsteps and made the room sound a bit more normal than echoey, even though Professor Caulfield's voice did reverberate off the sides of the white walls a little. "What is the point of this?" a cadet questions.

"Psychologically preparing you for reality," Professor Caulfield answers while pacing on the blue mats in front of them. "In reality you have to talk them. If someone demands the impossible like a whale or the White House being renamed to the pink house you can't just call them nuts and shoot them,"

"The why do we have so much firearm's training?" Rome's irritating voice asks, making her roll her eyes. Of course he would be the one who was gung-ho to use guns. It made sense, knowing his personality type he'd be the first one to have the tagline of dirty cop in front of his name. He would definitely be the type to just go off of how someone looked to archetype them as hostile. "That's preparing you for a tactical response for when things get out of hand. You're job is to make sure things don't get out of hand. If things do, then you fail and innocent people die," Professor Caulfield grimly answers.

As if she didn't feel pressured enough by firearm's training, now even her academic classes were starting to make her feel uneasy. She hadn't realized how much danger went into Hostage Negotiations. "We're going to pair off into groups of three. I will decide who plays what. Negotiator, hostage, and fugitive," Professor Caulfield announces, rolling up his dress shirt to his elbows. He starts at the end of the line, rattling off who would be who and giving what she assumed was a toy gun to the negotiators and the fugitives.

"Negotiator," he calls out to her, pressing the cool, dark toy gun in the palm of her hand. For a decoy gun it still looked and felt real. It wasn't as weighted as a normal, loaded handgun felt but it still had the painted safety switch, and she was still able to pull on the top of the muzzle as if she were reloading the gun. "I want my negotiators to come forward," Professor Caulfield beckons at the center of the room. She absentmindedly steps forward with seven other of her fellow cadets, looking quizzically at the professor.

He begins at the other end of the room, placing each cadet on one side of a blue mat. "Cadet Cruise stand here," he points to the second to last blue mat on the ground, which she obediently follows. She was now facing towards Lena and Linnea, who were addressed as a fugitive and a hostage. She hoped one of them was in her group. "Hostages come forward," Professor Caulfield calls out once again. Quinn watches as Lena steps forward, her eyes accidentally locking with hers.

A little glimmer of hope sparkled in them as she wanted to be a part of her group. Unfortunately, Professor Caulfield had a backwards way of dividing the group up and sends Lena down to the opposite side. "Cadet Sisk stand in front of Cruise," he addresses, causing her to frown. Cadet Sisk was a tall and burly man, taller than Steve. If she hadn't known any better she could've easily mistaken him as older than her. The cadet politely smiles at her before stepping in front of her. He was one of the few cadets who hadn't made a fuss about her being here. But he was usually quiet so it was hard to tell if he truly didn't mind her presence at all. She felt bad for the fugitive who had to hold him hostage since he towered over everyone.

"Fugitives step forward," Professor Caulfield's voice rings out once again. She can't see where Linnea is but she wanted her in her group. It would delight her to see her try to hold Sisk hostage. She can, however, see down the line at the other cadets. She stifles a small laugh as she sees Rome standing out as a fugitive. Unfortunately, her glee comes to an end once Professor Caulfield beckons out, "Cadet Rome come into Cadet Cruise's group."

She can practically feel her eyes roll to the back of her head, her arms crossed her chest. Everything about her casual demeanor changed drastically into a disheveled look as soon as she was paired with Rome. She hadn't been in close contact with him since her first day, just a few side glances and insults but nothing too drastic to make her blood boil without him saying a word.

There was something dangerous about him having a gun, real or fake, that made her nervous. His blue eyes shimmer as he gives her a snarky look before taking his place in front of Sisk. She directs get attention back to the professor as everyone has shifted into their groups. Sisk and Rome leaving her alone on one side of the mat. It was pretty comical to see Rome, who was at most six-two, trying to wrap his arms around Sisk who was much taller than him, at least by a good five inches. She tries her best to avoid eye contact all together, keeping her focus on her professor instead who was pacing back and forth on the mats.

"Start with a threatening opening and list demands then digress from there. Just use your imagination," Professor Caulfield explains, before turning towards the opposite end where he was. She tries her best to no avoid eye contact with him as well. Although, he was her professor he gave her an odd reading, wanting to really dig into her mind about the whole situation that happened. She'd honestly love to forget the Hydra incident happened all together but she kept getting reminded that she was one of them even if it were briefly and out of her control. "Let's start with Cadet Cruise's group,"

Quinn rolls her eyes as she grumbles under her breath that she knew that he'd start with her. Everything about her seemed to pique his interest. She felt like she was being calculated every time he watched her. Not as if she were a threat, but as if he was genuinely interested to see what she would do with anything. She watches him careful with guarded eyes as he passes between the two sides of the mat. Something was off about this today. "Begin," he commands with a smirk, hugging his clipboard tight to his chest.

Quinn wastes no time in holding her gun up, training it on Rome as she was taught to do. Even with how much she hated him, aiming at him made her stomach flip uncomfortably. "Sir, I'm asking you to put the gun down," she demands in an authoritative voice - one she had to practice with in college. She watches as Rome lets out a breathless chuckle, his grip around Sisk's neck shifting and becoming tighter as he drags him closer. "No way, kiss my ass. As soon as I put it down you'll shoot me,"

The smirk on Rome's face grows wider with each passing second as Quinn tries to think of a retort. She had been completely thrown off by his comment. It must've showed as she looked at him confused, lowering her gun. "Okay, there's no need to use that kind of language, Cadet Rome," Professor Caulfield calls out to him. With a shake of her head to clear her confusion she aims the gun right back at Rome.

"I can assure you no one will hurt you if you just comply," she says, trying to be as reasonable as she can. Rome tightens his grip on Sisk and pushes the muzzle of the gun closer to his temple. "If you don't listen to me I'm going to blow his brains straight to hell," he threatens. She's once again thrown off causing Professor Caulfield to speak up in a warning tone. "Rome -"

"Sorry, sir, it's just how I'd imagine these situations to go," he addresses their professor, turning towards him with Sisk still in an awkward headlock. "No niceties,"

To everyone else it came off as nonchalant and calm but to Quinn, she could hear the venom in his tone, see how he glares at her from the side as if she were nothing but trash. Her blood pressure was through the roof but she managed to stay somewhat calm. "Very well. Proceed," Professor Caulfield announces with a sigh. Due to her sudden spike in adrenaline from Rome's backhanded words and gestures she immediately points the gun at his head. Her hands trembling from the pure frustration that surged through her veins. Two can play at this game. "Well then screw _you_, I asked you to put the gun down," she demands in a hostile voice, brow furrowing in anger.

Rome returns the glare as he argues back, "No fuck _you_ -"

"Okay, we don't need to get into that," Professor Caulfield interrupts once again, his eyes looking as if he were already tired if this exercise. Finally, Rome had crossed over the line, something he was privileged enough not to know it existed, the expression on his face said it all. She had to refrain from smirking as their professor continued. "We don't use that kind of language in the field. This could be a real life situation so let's treat it like that. Let's just stick to pressing the demands," he explains.

In a way she could see why harsh language could upset a highly unstable human being but at the same time it was a stressful situation. She could imagine people freaking out and using the vulgarities. She couldn't help but imagine if Steve ever used such harsh words while being on a mission. He didn't seem like the type to curse, nor had she ever actually heard him swear - or if she had she'd forgotten. It appeared that she had a new challenge for her. Operation: Make Steve Swear.

Professor Caulfield had moved down the line to the pair next to them. A few cadets that were Rome's friends who didn't have as smart as a mouth as him, or they just didn't have the gull to viciously insult her like he did. The negotiator points the gun towards the fugitive. "All right, put the gun down Rick," he says in a clam voice. Quinn watches as Professor Caulfield jots down notes on the clipboard as he watches the scene take place. She wondered how many tallies her group had gotten from Rome's outburst. "I have your wife and kids here, they want to see you," he states.

The fugitive cadets mouth opens and closes as he tries to think of what to say next. "Oh my god, I haven't seen my kids since I lost custody over them two years ago. I can't have them seeing me like this." In an instant the fugitive cadets places the muzzle of the gun underneath his chin, reenacting what would be a gruesome scene. "Okay, good!" Professor Caulfield points out, drawing everyone's attention to him "Important not to talk to a divorced man about his ex wife and children," his eyes dart over to her group once again.

There was no doubt that her eyes were filled with indecision and confusion but her brings up his clipboard once more. "Try another method," he encourages them. She merely nods her head but something in the back of her mind says Rome is still going to be as counterproductive as he was earlier. She sighs as she points the gun at his head once more. "All right, I asked nicely to put the gun down, sir. You're going to hurt a lot of people -"

"Why don't you make me, you Hydra mind controlled freak?" Rome interrupts, targeting her in specific. Her mind goes blank for a millisecond before hot white anger starts to flow through her body. A scowl forms on her face as she drops her gun by her side. "What!" she shouts out, her face becoming hot with rage. It only takes a few large steps for her to cross the mat over towards Rome and Sisk (who looked like he wanted no part in this). "I'm not under Hydra's mind control you ignorant ass!" she screeches, coming within a few inches of his face.

Sisk unravels himself from Rome, dodging the bickering teammates. It was clear to everyone that Rome had finally snapped Quinn in half. Her hands trembled with anger as she resisted the urge to deck him on the spot. Somewhere from behind them she could hear the clam voice of her professor try to coo out towards them, "Okay, okay -"

"Step back, princess or else," he warns her, drawing his gun close to him where she could easily see it. She rolls her eyes at the threat of the dummy gun. "Or else what? You're going to shoot me?" she taunts, watching a cruel smirk appear on Rome's lips. "You want to punch me," he notes. "Do it. I dare you -"

Rome can't even finish his sentence before Quinn's palm connects with his nose, causing a searing pain to radiate within him. Tears sting his eyes as the sensation throbs throughout his body. There's a commotion from all the other students coming from beside them as they watch him try to stand back up. Once he does, he turns and faces Quinn, who looks like she hasn't had quite her fill in hurting him.

"You're dead," he mutters to himself before quickly crossing towards her. She didn't have time to defend herself as she feels her legs being swept from underneath her. The wind escapes her lungs as her back thuds hard against the floor. She groans for a moment before she feels Rome's presence once again. He straddles her waist, holding down her arms as she sits indefensible. His fist connect to her face, one, two, three times before his body is pulled off of hers. Each strike ignited a new jab of pain, and at one point she can see stars and then nothing out of her left eye.

She has a whirlwind of cognition as she sits up, watching Sisk and another cadet pull Rome off of her. "That's enough!" Professor Caulfield's muffled voice rings from behind her. She numbly scratches her head as she tries to recouperate from Rome's blows. She hadn't felt like this in a while. Soon Professor Caulfield's figure comes in between the two, his face red with anger. "Dial it back, the both of you!"

Out of the corner of her eye she can see Linnea offer her a hand. She takes it, staggering up to her feet, as she holds her eye. "She started it!" Rome childishly puts the blame on her. She wants to spew out that she was taunted into doing so. However, she can barely form a sentence as her head aches from the blows sustained from Rome's fists.

"I don't care who started what. I'm ending it!" Professor Caulfield exclaims. It was a rarity to see him angry, but he was truly engulfed with it. It almost had her fearful of him and his actions. Something in her said not to trust the professor, especially after he stated he wanted to pick at her brain for fun. He turns to glare between the two squabbling cadets, shaking his head in frustration and disappointment. "Rome, Cruise, my office, now!"

_**~ BOOK TWO: AGE OF ULTRON ~**_

**SHE CAN'T REMEMBER the last time** she ever sat in front of a desk feeling the way she did. Unbelievable guilt for losing control was coursing through her veins and the imminent thought of being expelled spiraled in her mind. She hadn't meant to lose control - although Rome had it coming. She hadn't thought ahead about how this could effect her in the long run. If she could take it back she would, but life is filled with "would've-could've-should've"'s as her father would say.

Now she sat in the empty lecture hall, beside the man who made her lose control, ice pack glued to her eye to wear down the swelling. Across the way her professor sat, looking between the two with the heavy burden of expulsion weighing in on his shoulders. "I'm disappointed in you two," he begins his lecture as if he were the parent of two bratty children. "Rome for provoking the fight and Cruise for initiating it -" his eyes dance between the two as he addresses them but he's ultimately cut off by Rome. "Doesn't she get expelled now?"

Her and Professor Caulfield's brows at his sudden outburst. It was abundantly clear that he didn't like her, but for him to set her up to get expelled, that was a new low. She knew that's what he had been doing, now. Unfortunately, it was too late to notice. Rome crosses his arms against his chest, his nose discolored with a ripe bruise that was starting to swell up. "I mean things were a lot better before she showed up. Now everyone has to be on guard -"

"She's not getting expelled," Professor Caulfield speaks up in an exasperated tone - as if he were tired of hearing Rome. "It was a simple training exercise that you two took way too far and it got a little personal," he explains. Rome's mouth opens and closes like a fish gasping for air, distraught on the fact that he wasn't getting his way. All the while, Quinn celebrated her minor victory of not being expelled although she very well deserved it. Once again the professors eyes flicker between the two as her addresses them. "Rome, I know tensions are high and Cruise that's not your fault in any way. Hydra has made us all a little paranoid. But Cadet Cruise is no longer under Hydra's control -"

"But she could -" Rome tries to argue but is quickly shut down by the professor. "She is no longer under Hydra's control," he enunciated every word as if he had said it over time and time again. Rome's demeanor changes as he slumps into his seat, defeated by his goal. "We treat our fellow cadets with respect and we don't care how they were brought up," he lectures Rome. "Since the day she arrived you have become part of a family. Get used to each other or else I really will have to report you to Suyin. _Both_ of you,"

"Yessir," the two cadets hiss out in unison as if they were children who were forced to be apologetic to one another. Their professor leans back in his seat somewhat satisfied that he had gotten through to them. Somewhat. Knowing Rome he'd still have an affinity in making Quinn's life hell while she was here. But that didn't matter at the moment. "First and only warning. Dismissed," he threatens while waving his hand in the air to dismiss them, his voice was harsh but sounded exhausted.

Quinn stands up slowly while mumbling out an apology to the professor who just grunts in affirmation. She feels embarrassed, here she was a grown adult getting into childish fights with a guy in his early twenties. Not to mention her professor who just lectured them was not too much older than her. She must've looked like a messed up charity case to him now. Rome forcibly pushes his shoulder against hers as they exit the doorway. "Stay out of my way," he growls, not even bothering to glance at her. Her brows furrow as she watches him walk in the opposite direction of her. It was as if everything that Professor Caulfield had lectured them on went in one ear and out the other.

She looked up at the clock on the wall. Thirteen hundred. She was supposed to be in Basics but she didn't know if she could handle any more if Rome's harassment. She'd take a demerit for skipping out on the rest of her classes. She felt foolish for letting her emotions get the best of her. She didn't like feeling belittled about something she didn't or couldn't remember, it was something that was out of her control.

She can feel a tear leave her swollen eye, whether it was a tear of sorrow or if it was just because her eye was reacting to the sudden puffiness was beyond her. She did feel a tight coil in her chest. Maybe it was because she felt disheartened. If Rome provoked her again, and she stood her ground again, she'd be expelled. It didn't settle well with her. She fishes in her pocket, grabbing her phone out and quickly tapping at the screen.

_"Do you have time to talk?"_

**_~ BOOK TWO: AGE OF ULTRON ~_**

**SHE SAT NERVOUSLY in front of** the computer screen. She should be in Basics, she should be training for her field work but the subtle nudging feeling in her mind told her she wasn't ready for this. Nor was she ready to handle doing paperwork from behind a desk. She struck herself a deal, she would train and be in at least fifth by the time her training was over. She wouldn't settle for less. If her professors asked where she was the day before all she'd have to do is show them her eye and her lip. They'd piece it together, especially since Rome was walking around with a bruised and bloodied nose. Thankfully she hadn't successfully broken it all the way. Even thinking about the sudden pop she felt in the palm of her hand made her squirm in embarrassment.

She groans as she cringes at her actions. She would never crawl out of the pit of anxiety she had created for herself. But there was one way to calm her nerves, one way to make herself feel as if she were okay. She lets out a shaky breath as she taps the green call button under Steve's name. If there was one person who could comfort her and make her feel at ease it was him. Her only grievance was that she didn't put anything on to cover up her bruise. She absentmindedly shudders as she thinks about trying to massage the foundation into her skin.

The bruise throbs with a sudden pain that made her unwillingly touch her eye. She yelps as her fingers connect with the sensitive area. The ringing of the video chat stops and the speakers are filled with the muffled sounds of struggle coming from the opposite end. The screen is completely dark as she hears Steve mutter out how worthless his laptop was. After a moment of finnicking with the laptop - and from what she can only assume was Steve hitting the side of the screen - his face appeared on the glowing screen.

Pixelated albeit beautiful.

A sense of relief washes over her. He was literally a sight for her sore eyes. "Hello - whoa!" his sweet singsong voice turns concerned as his eyes are drawn to her bruise. She lets out a short but exasperated breath as she begins to tear up. Her emotions swelled. She had missed him so much that even seeing him made her heart ache. She had made the idiot mistake of not hiding her bruise. "Oh, you look...so great?" he states, trying to cover for his outburst. She rolls her eyes at the forced compliment. "It's okay, you can ask -"

"Where'd you get that shiner?" he blurts out, not even letting her finish her sentence. The outburst makes her chuckle a little, straightforward and blunt. He had said he wasn't the greatest at talking to women. Even through the pixelated screen she can see his sheepish smile creep on his face as he recoils in embarrassment from his outburst. She relaxes into her chair in her dorm. "Class," she answers shortly. "Like for training? Seems intentional," he observes.

"Oh it was," she shrugs off as if it were no bid deal. Her eyes drop to the floor in disappointment and embarrassment. "You know, believe it or not, not a lot of people like the idea of having a glorified Hydra zombie training with them. Puts them on edge and they're more prone to attack me,"

"Does this happen often?" Steve questions, concern seeping into his voice. "I'm just worried about your safety. I'm not there. They could really hurt you. I can talk to Tony -"

"Please, for the love of God, leave Tony out of it. It's bad enough people know I got I with his help, if I get certain people in trouble..."

"I understand," he replies catching her off guard. She thought she'd have to argue with him about this. "I'm just a little concerned and worried about your safety," he says in a low tone. She lets out a breathless chuckle as she begins to relax into the conversation. "Welcome to my life for whenever you go on missions," she announces, causing him to roll his eyes as he nods his head. "And to answer your question from earlier the physicality of the teasing doesn't happen often but the under the breath insults..." she trails off thinking of all the belittling words Rome and his goonies had called her, even going to the length of destroying one if her academy shirts with the word "ZOMBIE" written in large, bold letters across it with a marker.

She shakes her head, she was at a loss of words for the constant harassment she was receiving. She never wanted to return home so badly. "Sounds like they're just trying to haze you," Steve notes, crossing his arms across his chest. "Not to make that sound normal or good," he corrects himself only earning a head shake of assurance from her. "It's just something you'll overcome. I know you will. You're one of the strongest people I know,"

The compliment sinks deep and makes her heart clench. Now she was missing him and home more than ever. She knew she could feel validated by talking to him. "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," she hums out in a dreamy tome. Her lips protest as she attempts to smile, her cut cracking in the process. She hisses in pain and tries to conceal it before he can even as what's wrong. "Although," she begins, trying to take the focus off her injury. "I do have to say, when my hand connected with his nose -"

_"His?"_ Steve reiterates, his voice sounding harsh from discovering the gender of her assaultant. She simply ignores this and tries to continue. "It seemed familiar. I think Blair taught me that,"

She watches as he pulls his bottom lip through his teeth to bite it. It was clear he was now annoyed with the fact that it was Rome - a man - who had given her the black eye. But this was an achievement for her and he did recognize that. It wasn't every day she remembered something from earlier this year when she had known him, even if the memory wasn't about him and their time together, it was a result of how much time they spent together.

"Well it's good you're remembering some of your training," he notes, trying to sound impressed even though his mind was clouded with frustration over her carelessness for her safety with Rome harassing her. He wanted to be there for her, he wanted to kick his teeth in and show him not to mess with her. But he couldn't. He knew this was her battle and if he fought it for her she'd never forgive him.

"How is Blair by the way? Any news from her?" she questions out of the blue. She hadn't heard from her in quite some time and he had stopped relaying messages from Blair to her and vice-versa. His brow furrows as if he were deep in thought while his lips pulled in to a thin line. Something was wrong and he was trying to find the most delicate way to phrase it to her. "What's that look for?" she asks, her voice sounding more stern than what she had planned.

"It's nothing," he tries to shrug off but the perk of her brow told him that she wasn't buying it. He scratches the back of his neck while looking around the room to see if he was alone. He lets out a frustrated sigh as he returns his attention to her. "We haven't gotten an update from Blair in a week is all and we're unable to find her coordinates," he informs her in a low and discreet voice, fearful that he may get caught disclosing the information to someone who wasn't authorized to know.

"So she's missing," she assumes, anxiety starting to ache in her chest.

"She's not missing," he corrects her, trying to calm her nerves. "She's just doing her job," he sighs out. At this point it sounds as if saying this out loud meant he was trying to convince himself that she was fine. Maybe he was. "If she's gone for more than a couple of weeks we'll send a search team out for her," he states, watching her try to furrow her brow as best as she could. It seemed impossible to do with her eye. But she still managed to narrow her gaze at him, she could call bullshit at any moment but she didn't want to start an argument.

"Wouldn't that be impossible? You don't know where she is," she simply asks, even though it sounds more of a critical statement. "It's not impossible. It's difficult but never impossible to find her," he replies with a shoulder shrug. He didn't want to worry about it until the time came - he was already starting to get nervous about the situation though. She had never gone this long without communication. But he had a duty to not stress Quinn out even more than she was.

"She'll show up, you shouldn't worry about her. This is Blair we're talking about," he states as if this were a regular thing for her to do. "She's probably off trying to manipulate people into buying things for her and going off grid," he lists off. That was like Blair, before coming to S.H.I.E.L.D. she was a renowned cat burglar from what Quinn had read online - not to mention she was the only survivor in her family after a freak accident. She couldn't help but think that the accident that killed her family wasn't that freak nor was it an accident.

Instead of asking Steve his opinions on this or where he weighed in on the "freak accident" scale, she in turn pouts her lips as best as she could as she tries to maul over the information. She wasn't missing but they had no idea where she was, that by definition, sounded like she was missing. Or maybe she was escaping.

"Do you think she'd leave the Avengers?" she questions out of the blue.

All of Blair's information stayed classified in the vault of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s vast information hold but ever since Natasha leaked everything out in the open, perhaps whatever freak accident happened to her family was now on the look out for her. This was her perfect opportunity to run. She'd just wish she actually said goodbye. "Anyone can leave the Avengers. If she wanted to, she would tell us," he assures her while also soothing his conscious.

She sits back for a moment trying to work out all the pieces in her head. If Blair wanted to leave the Avengers she could, but she didn't notify anyone. She could possibly be in danger. Quinn tries to shake the thought, instead focusing on Steve. She knew he didn't like living under Tony's control but she didn't know he had an option to leave. This intrigued her. Why would he stay? She quickly realizes it's because he had a good heart and a good head on his shoulders.

Much like her, he wanted to help people who needed it most. He couldn't do that without the Avengers. She did have to wonder what his life would be like without them. Would they have even met? "Do you want to leave the Avengers?" she asks, watching his face tear in two.

There was a part of him who wanted to live the normal life that he once thought he could have, a life where he could give Quinn flowers without people flashing their cameras and asking who the flowers were for. Yet, he knew that once he had the serum injected in him there would be no chance of a normal life. And he took it.

"I can't. You know I can't," he replies, his tone firm but disheartened as if he thought she wouldn't like his answer. It was a touchy subject after all. "But if you could. Would you?"

He pursed his lips into a thin line. He didn't want to answer that question. He didn't know the answer. As if the smell of panic released into the room, Rudolph stepped over by his side to give him an assuring presence. And a way to end the conversation. He'd never been saved like this before. "I have to let Rudolph out before it starts to get dark. I'll talk to you soon?" he tries to dismiss the conversation all together. She noticed this but ultimately gives up on trying to press it anymore. Instead, she merely nods her head. "Most definitely. Give my love to my puppy," she chides, a small smile coming to her face.

"And to me?" he teases, begging for affirmation.

"And some to you, big guy," she says as she playfully rolls her eyes. He tells her to hold on for a moment as he leaves the screen. She can hear the jingling of the golden retrievers tags in the distance and the cooing voice of Steve. He was a bigger pushover than her when it came to the dog. "Come here," he instructs the dog, as he places himself back in front of the screen.

Rudolph blissfully ignorant head pops up, offering Steve a tail wag as he pants in excitement. He grabs onto Rudolph, holding him in his lap like an infant - their usual ritual. "Say goodbye to your mother," he commands the pup by grabbing on to one of his giant paws and trying to make it look like he was waving.

Quinn giggles at the action, her smile so broad it hurt. "Bye my big baby. I miss you the most," she coos at the dog, giving him a tiny wave back. "Hey!" Steve's voice goes up in pitch as if he were offended by the amount of love and attention she was giving the dog instead of him. "Okay, I miss you too," she playfully teases, shrugging it off like it didn't matter. "Thanks," he mutters out in response. "Talk to you soon. Bye,"

She can't hang up on him fast enough. Even though he said Blair was fine, she could easily tell that her unknown whereabouts were a problem. She could be in trouble, I danger or worse. She felt as if it were irresponsible for the Avengers not go and look for her, even if it wasn't in their protocol. They could wait another week but who knows where she'd be able to wander off to or where she'd be taken. Her mind instantly springs to Hydra.

They must've gotten a hold of her. Even the thought of them taking her was enough to make her want to shriek in terror. But that was the result of being close to Steve or the Avengers. She's conflicted at first at the thought of Hydra controlling Blair but once she's made up her mind, she springs to her feet. Hidden in one of her bags of belongings she brought was EDGE. She told herself she'd work on it while she was away but due to the curriculum and early lights out she hadn't had the chance to. Now was her time. And she'd have to get it at least halfway operating in order to find her missing friend.

Maybe then she could convince Steve and the rest of the Avengers that she was in danger and needed help. Maybe they didn't care. Or they could become frustrated with her for knowing about Blair in the first place. Steve could get in trouble, and that would jeopardize them. She couldn't let that happen. Maybe it was up to her to help Blair out.

Hours seemed to fly by as she tinkered with the device's hardware. When she found Blair's last known coordinates (by hacking into Steve's laptop - he would never know) the evening had already start to set in and cadets had started filing back to their dorms. She had briefly seen Linnea and Lena as they entered the room, to ask how she was and then to inform her that they would have a study session in Lena's dorm.

Quinn bounces off her bed, laptop in hand, and pen in the other - transferring it to her mouth as she knocks on Lena's dorm door. Before Lena could even open the door she was already bursting in, looking like a piping hot mess, with a devilish grin on her face. "Hey, you busy?" she questions the two cadets who were casually laying on Lena's bed, Linnea's hair slightly tussled with her book open to a random page upside down. Lena looked positively out of breath, but tried to remain casual.

"Just studying for this quiz on Thursday. Why?" Linnea tries to cover for themselves, even though it was obvious what they had been doing. Quinn simply ignores this and shuts the door to the dorm, silently sneaking further in. "We're going on a rescue mission. I can't do it without you two," she whispers out, shining her laptop towards them.

She quickly explains what had happened and that her friend was in trouble, each of them absorbing the troubling information like true agents would. After a moment of Quinn going off on her tangent, Linnea slowly started to nod her head as she took I all the information. "Where to?" she speaks up.

"New York City," Quinn responds without missing a beat. Linnea gives Lena a side glance who returns it with a smirk. "I've never been," she admits to Lena, shrugging her shoulders. "It'd be nice to see the outside world. I haven't left Quantico since August," Lena agrees with her, giving her a blissful and hopeful smile that made her heart melt. Linnea quickly turns back to Quinn, a determined look on her face. "Consider us in,"


	45. CHAPTER XLV

**CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE**

**(** ACROPHOBIA **)**

**STEP ONE: ESCAPE.**

The stars twinkled brightly as the crickets and cicadas chirped during the night. Even with as dark as it was it was still uncomfortably hot. This place wasn't an academy it was a hell hole, or at least that's what it had become during her stay here. Her breathing was sporadic as her heart thumped violently in her chest. She had never done something wrong in her life, she was never the type to go against the rules (unless they impeded her relationship).

This made her stomach flip and she knew her father was rolling over in his grave. They had a strict curfew of twenty-one hundred, no one was to be coming in or out of the dorms during that time. The only reason she could leave her dorm was to use the restroom and even then it'd be classified as harassment with the amount of questions they'd ask her. By they she meant the upperclassmen who were posted at either end of the hallway, dictating who would come in and out of the dorm and securing the cadets that slept within them each night.

It was a miracle that Lena was able to draw their attention away by causing the restrooms to become clogged, sending water seeping out into the hallway. How she clogged them was an answer she really didn't want to know, but she could only assume it was a sheer amount of toilet paper stuck in each latrine.

Now they were crouched outside of the dorm, in a bush, hoping to not get caught by the nightly patrol. According to the academy it was an honor to stay up all night and walk around the perimeter of the base but she couldn't see how it was that great. She could only imagine how sleep deprived she'd be if she was on a patrol and then had to go to her classes the next day. She shuffles awkwardly in the bush, causing Linnea to give her a sharp hush before looking out across the grounds once again, on alert.

"Should we go over the plan, one more time?" she questions, her voice somewhat jittery as the anxiety of sneaking out implants itself in her chest. Linnea resists the urge to roll her eyes as she focuses her attention back on Quinn. "So, we have to get into the firearm's vault," she instructs, pointing off in the distance to where the armory was. "That's where they keep all the weapons which could help us out in case we run into any trouble,"

Quinn's stomach plummets as she thinks about stealing from the academy, especially stealing weapons. It was a one-way ticket to getting expelled. But she was already on that route, what else did she have to lose? Except her dignity. "We have to be careful because it's patrolled every fifteen minutes,"

"That's a lot of frequent check-ins for weapons that aren't being utilized," she snorts in reply.

"Once we get in, we have to get out as soon as possible because I do not want to be caught stealing guns from the FBI,"

"Good point," she acknowledges, earning a soft chuckle from Lena.

"We scale the perimeter fence so we don't have to go by the guard station out front, and then we run into town and hijack a car," she continues, pointing at the high fence in the distance. She was more or less surprised it didn't have barbed wire at the top, however, this was Quantico, not a lot of people would dare to break into the facility or break out, it must be like breaking thirty federal laws.

"And you know how to hotwire a car?" Quinn asks, perking a brow up in question. Linnea absentmindedly shakes her head while sighing. "I had strict parents," she grumbles out in response. Apparently, hotwiring cars was something that was common to know out of the people she was associated with. According to the S.H.I.E.L.D. reports she had read on Steve's journey as a fugitive, he hotwired a truck to get her home and make his way to New Jersey. She shakes her head clear from thoughts of Steve. If he knew what she was doing he would be against it.

She looks between the two cadets who were awaiting for her approval on whether or not to continue with the plan. She had never really been in the leader position and now she was thrust into it. She could even wrap her mind around it, everything was happening so fast. "After that it should be easy. We drive to the Avengers tower. We just can't be pulled over," she merely shrugs, trying to convince them that this was no big deal. However, she failed to convince herself. Her conscious began to feel guilty.

She was putting them in a bad position to the academy. She couldn't bear herself if they got caught and we're expelled for her dumb mistakes. She bites down on her lip, before speaking up, "We'll probably get expelled. Are you guys sure you're up to this?" The pair look anxiously between each other, as if they were starting to regret coming along with this mission. She wouldn't blame them, if she were in their position she'd have second thoughts as well. "It's our job to make sure everyone is safe," Linnea addresses, looking questioningly towards Lena and then meeting Quinn's quizzical gaze. "If someone is in danger we have to help them,"

Lena nods her head in agreement as well, amazing Quinn. She couldn't believe there were people in the world as selfless as them. They would both make good matches for Steve, perhaps they could go on a double date once this was all over. However, Lena grabs on to her hand, squeezing it lightly. "Will you be okay? I know you said you needed the money -"

"Blair's life is more important than any amount of money in the world," she hastily responds. "Even if I need it,"

Lena responds with a tight lipped smile, as if she were forced to. It wasn't reassuring but it comforted her to a point, like what she was doing made sense. "You're a good friend," she says under her breath, making sure to remain quiet as Linnea hushes them both. The sound of thumping footsteps startled all three of them. Quinn held her breath as her heart beat erratically in her chest, she could hear the rhythmic drumming pounding in her ears and wondered if the patrol could also hear it.

What was she going to say if they did get caught? My bad? It would look horrible for her and for the two cadets if they were found hiding out in a bush outside of the academy past curfew. She could already hear the rumor conspiring, the accusations of her actually being a member of Hydra despite her adamant protests. They'd be locked in holding and she'd have to call Steve to bail her out so he'd have to fly down to convince them otherwise. Then she'd have to have the awkward conversation of what she was doing and how she thought it was bull to not go after Blair. It would surely cause a rift between them at least. Possibly worse.

By the time she was done jumping to the worst conclusion and overthinking the patrol had passed by without tossing the bush a curious glance. Sweat beaded down the back of her neck and she let out a shaky sigh of relief. However, her relief didn't last long as Linnea pulled them out of the bush. They stuck close to the sides of the academy, concealing themselves in the darkness of it's shadows. Every step she took made her feel guiltier than before. She was going against everything she had been taught. If only her father could see her now.

Linnea halted in her tracks abruptly almost causing her to bump into her. Linnea hisses for her to stop and act quiet as she looks out towards the weapons vault. No wonder the area looked familiar. As she peeked her head out, she couldn't see anyone stationed in front of it. It was wide open. However she couldn't believe it would be this easy. Her eyes scoured the landscape trying to see if there were any hidden guards, or cameras but to her surprise she couldn't see anyone.

"Find any trouble yet?" she whispers towards Linnea who was doing the same as her. Linnea gives her a curt shake of her head, looking just as confused as she was no doubt. She looked between the two cadets who looked to her for guidance. After a moment she shrugs and slinks out towards the vault, the other two following. There were no sounds of protest coming from behind her, nor were there any signs of activity coming from the facility as she approached the large metal door.

She grabs the door handle and attempts to open in, however, when tries to jerk it open it stays put, giving out a slight clanging of protest. Locked. She clicks her tongue as she glares down at the handle and then to the lock next to it, her fingers absentmindedly skimmed over the numbers for the locks code. She hadn't exactly planned for this.

In less than a second she was being shoved aside by Lena, causing her to absentmindedly squeak in protest at the foreign touch. She turns to glare at her but stops as she watches her fingers move at a quick pace. With the rapid session of a few quick beeps the lock unhinges with a sudden hiss. She can't help but narrow her eyes at Lena before looking between her and the lock. Lena gives off an apologetic look. "All locks have some sort of skeleton key, er, skeleton code in this case," she tries to excuse herself.

Quinn was starting to wonder if she had associated herself with two cat burglar's instead of two cadets, one can hotwire a car and one is a master pick lock and she wasn't packing anything. No special skills, no knowledge of sneaking out and breaking the rules. Nothing. "Smart," is all she can say as she steadies herself over the door handle once again. She hesitates for a moment before looking at them once again.

"There's no doubt there's cameras in here. Are you sure you're still with me?" she asks, her voice growing more stern more authoritative. The two cadets once again nod their heads in unison, however, she can see that Linnea is a little more hesitant than Lena. She figured that she was probably still along for the ride to make sure Lena didn't get into any trouble but it worked out in her advantage. Linnea was the smartest out of the group of them.

Quinn's lips purse into a thin line before she gives off one nod to them each. It did make her heart swell that there were at least some people at the academy who liked her enough to help her through this, even if it meant expulsion.

Her hand goes slack on the door knob as she takes in a deep breath to steady her nerves. "Thank you. I don't know why you're doing this -"

"Just open the door," Lena hisses, interrupting her speech.

"Yeah, okay," she quickly obeys, a small blush of embarrassment coming to her cheeks. She didn't have the same power as Steve to rally everyone together with a hearty speech that would motivate people to do almost anything. She dismisses her failed speech as she turns the handle of the door, letting them inside. The room is dark and cool, filled to the brim with cases of weapons and ammunition. It would be tragic if someone against the academy wound up in here to use these weapons for evil.

Not that them stealing them wasn't bad, but it wasn't like they were going to use them against the academy, she didn't have a death wish. She just needed protection on her way to get Blair. She still couldn't wrap her head around Steve's actions during the Skype call. Even if the screen was blurry she could still see that his expression was nervous, as if he hadn't thought about going through the same notions as her to get her back, the only difference was that she was actually acting on it while Steve stood by as an obedient soldier. Hopefully, he wouldn't be too upset with by doing this.

"Well, well, well," a voice rings out from behind the trio, who were carelessly loading up handguns with ammo, and still grabbing some ammo for the road. The voice was irritatingly familiar, so much so that Quinn didn't even stop herself from rolling her eyes. Of course, _he_ was the one out patrolling for the weaponry, it was just her luck. As she turned she wasn't surprised to find the eyes of Rome scanning her as if he were a predator and she was his prey. No wonder they couldn't spot him near by, he was glad all in black, radio attached to his shoulder, his hand gripping on to his rifle tightly (she couldn't understand why they would give him of all people a weapon).

"There's a zombie in the hen house," his smirk was more cocky than ever. "And it looks like you've infected others," he points over to Linnea and Lena with his rifle, causing them to shuffle uncomfortably, Linnea standing in front of Lena in an attempt to protect her. Even as much as she hated him and was unamused by his presence she couldn't help but feel a bit frightened. She placed her hands out in surrender. "Rome please -"

"No, there's no way you're not getting expelled now," he speaks over her elated that she had been caught red-handed. Quinn purses her lips once again, her mind running through the ways she could get herself out of this, if there was a way. She couldn't think of it. She only knew him to like her suffering, he was a masochist. He took enjoyment out of watching her brows furrow as she thinks of a way to beg for him to stay quiet.

"Think of it, think of how this will look when I call this in. An ex Hydra cronie with two cadets in the artillery vault. You'd be lucky if they just expell you," he was basically shaking from excitement, like a giddy school boy who just found out there was a snow day. This was truly the first time she had ever seen enjoyment in his blue eyes. He took his time reaching over to the radio on his shoulder. Her mind ran blank. She had to think of something and quick in order to get past this obstacle.

"Rome wait! I'll leave!" Quinn blurts out, alarming everyone in the vault. Linnea's brows furrow as she glares at her friend. "What?" she hisses out, only to be ignored by Quinn. This wasn't part of the plan. "I'll leave," Quinn repeats in a more calm manner, hands still by her sides in surrender, her eyes never leaving Rome's. He curiously looks her up and down, trying to get whatever game she was playing at.

"A good friend of mine is missing, she could be in serious trouble. Probably trouble with Hydra," she attempts to explain, taking a soft and slow step closer to him. "If you let us go without saying a word, I will drop out and I will go back to being an Apple store employee," she attempts to bargain with him. She winces as the words leave her mouth but she can't take any chances of getting caught. Besides she had learned enough from Professor Caulfield to know how to negotiate with an unreasonable person.

"You said it yourself I have no place being here. What if you're right?" she simply suggests while shrugging. Every word was throwing him off her trail, confusing him even more. "What are you saying?" he questions, his voice becoming colder with each step she took towards him.

"If you let us go to help my friend. I will leave -"

"You'd leave regardless if I let you go or not," he states in cold and curt tone.

"Yeah but wouldn't it be better to just let us go? I mean, do you really want to get Lena in trouble?" she points to Lena behind her, who automatically grew somewhat small in size and shy. All a ploy to get Rome to lower his defenses which it works in a way.

His eyes narrow between her and Lena, trying to catch a lie. "What?" he questions, his voice still harsh but she could tell he was starting to falter. Quinn snorts, becoming more personable. "I mean it's obvious you like her. Blatantly obvious," she snides, giving out a snearing smirk. "If you turn us in you'll be getting her expelled as well, and you don't want that. It'll ruin your chances with her," she states matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, if you let us go on our way I will totally go on a date with you," Lena speaks up. Her tone is filled with sarcasm but to Rome it seems like an actual promise. She could tell by the soft look in his eyes. They were the softest she'd ever seen them. He huffs out a grief stricken sigh, as if it pained him to be nice to her. "How do I know you'll keep your word?" he asks, his soft gaze turning harsh as soon as his attention turned towards her. Quinn taps her lips with her fingers as if she was lost I thought before a sly smirk appears on her face. "Come with us," she offers.

"What?" Linnea hisses out once again through her teeth. She must've thought she was going insane. Rome lets out a guffaw as he looks at her with the same look Linnea had given her. "Come with you? And risk getting expelled myself? Not a chance," he dismisses with a snort. She rolls her eyes.

She didn't like the suggestion as well but she couldn't trust him, especially after the black eye he had given her. This was the only way to ensure her safety besides knocking him out and hiding him somewhere which wouldn't work well in her favor since he'd probably wake up and tell officials where she was. She takes in a deep breath, trying to channel what Steve would do in this situation. What would a leader do?

"Come with us and save an innocent woman's life," her voice is a little shaky at first but once she meets his confused yet stern gaze she return it with a more affirmed look, her voice becoming more confident. "Be the person you need to be. Be the hero you want to be."

She can't help but shift uneasily as he stares her down, once again feeling sheepish. Maybe she wasn't cut out for being a leader after all but she figured it would be something Steve would say. He was her only good role model for situations like this,she had never really seen anyone else handle it explain their hostile encounters and it's not like she had that much experience.

All she can do is give him a pleading expression with her eyes and just hope that he'd do the right thing. After a moment he huffs out an exasperated scoff, letting his guard down which only ignited a small fire of accomplishment in her chest. She had finally broken him. "I'm only doing this just to ensure that you'll keep your word and to get that date," he growls, putting his rifle down by his side.

She slowly bring her hands down by her side in a gesture of calmness, that she didn't care what his reasoning was. She couldn't believe he was actually listening to her. Perhaps stroking his ego with him being the hero helped. "I also can probably get us out a lot faster than what you guys devised," he says with an eye roll.

She ignores his blatant unenthusiasm, sticking her hand out in front of herself for him to take. "Deal?" Her brow perks up in question and her voice sounds on edge, despite knowing he wasn't going to back down. He glares at her hand for a moment. She swears she can see regret fleeting in his eyes for a quick moment before he pushes it aside, firmly grasping on to her hand. "Deal," he agrees, voice completely drained and void of emotion.

She can tell he's just as conflicted as she was, although he had a larger option to say no to the mission while she couldn't in good conscience just let Blair wander off the grid. However, she was thankful that he was being cooperative. It was almost as if she had struck a nerve in him that made him do a one-eighty. His brows furrow in frustration as she continues to gaze at him.

"Get what you need and let's be on our way before the next patrol comes along," he commands, throwing his gaze over his shoulder to direct his guard to the outside of the vault. She merely nods at Linnea and Lena, who follow her motion to grab a handgun and a couple of boxes of ammunition. It made her stomach flip as she clutched on to the handgun. She couldn't even imagine using it to actually hurt someone. Hopefully, they didn't have to use any sort of force to find Blair, whether it be trying to escape the academy, attempting to hijack a quinjet, or just trying to find Blair in general.

She could already hear the lecture Steve would inflict on her if it ever came down to it. If it came down to it who was more important, Steve or Blair? Steve had been there with her from the start of everything, he had helped her the most with recovering from Hydra. She had feelings for him, she couldn't envision herself with anyone else except for him.

But Blair was also her friend. She taught her everything that made her lethal when it came to training at the academy. Her work with her made her have her name up on the board. Without Blair she wouldn't be as far as she was now. She shakes her head to clear the thoughts of going against either of them. By the end of the night one of them would be betrayed. She just hoped they wouldn't take it too personally.

Once Lena and Linnea had finished gathering what they required, her eyes darted to Rome who had been patiently waiting for them. "Lead the way, hotshot," she demands, placing her gun in her holster.

Rome's lips purse into a thin line across his face, he nods once before turning around to lead. She kept close behind him. If anyone knew this place it was him, and if anyone had enough respect from their peers it'd be him as well. She obviously wasn't as popular as him nor was she the favorite for certain reasons.

"This place looks creepier at night," she hisses out underneath her breath after a few brief moments of silence. He had forced them out on to the obstacle course that they had ran millions of times within the past week or so. The wooden structures gave off an eery appearance with their long shadows casting over the mud, the ropes that hung around the course blew with the faint cool breeze, each creak sending a chill down her spine.

"You know what the creepiest part is?" Rome hisses back at her, turning slightly to actually catch her gaze.

"What?"

"Your name up on the board,"

Linnea stifled a giggle but her sudden snort was enough to give Rome the pleasure of making her feel unwelcomed. "You know, I suddenly regret letting you come," she says with an eye roll.

"I mean, you could still bench me. But I'm not going to go quietly," he shrugs. "Have fun trying to escape with thirty agents on your tail,"

His voice is instantly cut off by the sound of Linnea hushing them. If anything they were going to be the reason why they get caught. They were too proud to let their feud go, even if it meant helping each other out in the long run. Although, it primarily was Rome who seemed to antagonize Quinn.

He could go off and tattle, but he'd also have to face the consequences that he helped arm them and conspire with them even if it were for a short period of time. If he were smart he'd see the plan through and hope that there was a chance they'd be willing to bring him back to the academy. It seemed like the only smart option.

He opens his mouth to say something - anything - smart towards Quinn but is immediately caught off guard by the sounds of distant voices. He's not the only one to whip his head around to see where it's coming from, each individuals heart got stuck in their throat as they looked behind to see a couple of shadows growing large, alerting them of the presence of a new patrol.

Quinn can't help but glare at Rome, who claimed to know each patrols route and was able to get them out unnoticed. His mouth was agape, his eyes wide. He only gave her a quick glance before he hissed out the word, "Scatter!"

It was just loud enough for the rest to hear as he darted off towards an obstacle for cover. Quinn followed in suit behind him. Although she didn't like him, she knew that he'd do anything to not get caught which would help her in the long run. Her heart beat rapidly within her chest as she slid behind the wooden wall with Rome, making sure to stay as silent as her breathing would let her.

She felt a firm, yet secure squeeze around her elbow. It was from Rome who threw her a concerned look, which also held a bit of a threatening glare behind it. "Don't move," he whispers out as the voices grow louder, along with the bright strips of light coming from two flashlights.

She could barely see Linnea and Lena cowering behind a couple of tires on the opposite end of the obstacle course. As the footsteps drew closer and closer her fight or flight instincts started to kick in. She knew she couldn't fight the guards, even if she had weapons, she couldn't bring herself to hurt them for doing their job. But could she outrun them?

Her eyes scanned the fence that laid in the distance. It was at least twelve feet high, there was no way she could run away and climb that without one of the guards catching up to her. The light of the flashlight was just now a few feet away, the stomping of the guards feet growing incredibly loud with the soft terrain. Her blood ran cold. They were going to get caught.

She squeezed her eyes shut and hoped for the best, maybe they wouldn't see them. Rome threw an arm across her chest to steady her, his eyes once again giving her a concerned look as he placed one finger over his lips to hush her. She felt pinned under his arm, it was as if he had thrown it across her to hold her down just in case she tried to run. If one went down, they all went down.

Once again, she looked at Rome's calm nature. His features were relaxed yet his muscles were poised in case he had to flee. He knew he could either talk his way out of trouble or fight his way out. The level of self assurance he had was something she wished for. Then a single thought popped into her head. If Rome could do it, she could do it.

She took a deep breath to steady her nerves and held it for as long as she could. Not only did Blair depend on her not getting caught but the three people she drug along with her did too. She couldn't in good conscience let anything bad happen to them for her actions. The guards footsteps were right behind the obstacle, Rome pinned her down even more, stepping somewhat forward as if he was going to throw her behind him and distract the guard if they got caught.

She took one small step closer to him, which he maneuvered around to step in front of her. That _was_ the plan. Why was he helping her if they were bound to get caught? The thought made her furrow her brow for a millisecond until she heard a shrill shout from the other side of the obstacle course that made her blood run cold once again.

She pressed herself flush against the wall, squeezing her eyes shut. "Rebey!" A distant voice called out. She wondered if the guard had found Lena and Linnea.

"What?" A voice from behind them called back - this belonged to the guard standing a couple feet away. She jumped in surprise at the nearness of his voice.

"Let's head out,"

There was a pause and she could only imagine her guard giving his partner a confused and disgruntled look. "Why?" he questioned.

"This place gives me the creeps at night,"

"And?" Her brows perked up at how stubborn the guard was being. She needed him to leave and there was a scapegoat letting him go.

"No one is trying to break in. Come on, man. It'll be our little secret," the other guard pleaded. The guard behind them let out a frustrated yet defeated sigh. "If you say so,"

As the sound of the guards retreating footsteps filled the air she leaned her head back against the wall, letting out a small huff of relief. That was too close. Her hands were still shaking from all the adrenaline that had built up from the encounter. Rome began to sneak out from behind the wall, as the voices of the guards faded.

Across the way she could see Lena and Linnea starting to stand up from their crouched positions from behind the tires. Rome threw them a quick hand towards him, telling them to hustle over as she approached him from behind.

She couldn't help but look at him, brows somewhat furrowed. He was ready to save her and sacrifice himself. Even after everything they had been through. He also could've stepped out from behind the wall and ratted everyone out yet he didn't. Perhaps there was some good in him after all. He gave her a confused look as to why she was staring at her. She shakes her head to clear her thoughts.

She hadn't even noticed that Linnea and Lena had joined the small group. "Thank you," she whispers out. Rome purses his lips into a thin line before shrugging the small feeling of appreciation off, returning to his normal brooding self. "Don't thank me yet, come on," he instructs them to follow him as he jogs off, putting as much distance between him and the guards as possible.

Linnea gave Quinn a quick displeased look as to why she was thanking Rome when he hadn't done anything. But he had done something. He had proven to her that he was more than just some bully. He had a heart.

They approached the tall fence, Lena letting out a low whistle as she looked at it. "That's going to be a bitch to climb," she states, pointing up to the top of the fence. Rome merely shrugs his shoulders. "It's the only way out -"

"I thought you said you had a secure way out!" Quinn hisses, cutting him off. He glares at her. "This place doesn't have guards surrounding it, now does it?" he argues. Quinn attempts to argue back but Linnea steps between the two, breaking it up before it turned into a screaming match. "Okay, who's going up there?" she questions, looking up at the fence.

No one was eager to volunteer, Lena looked away, Quinn crossed her arms across her chest, and Rome placed his attention behind them as if he were keeping a look out for the guards. Linnea let out a frustrated sigh. "Smallest first," she begrudgingly demanded. "What!" Lena shot up in anger, her pupils becoming small as she looked up at the top of the fence.

Lena was an average sized woman, no taller than five-four, but in this group she happened to be the smallest out of them. "It's the only fair way I could think of," Linnea tried to plea with her. "Besides, you'll be up and over in no time. I know you," she encourages with a light squeeze of her hand against hers.

Quinn couldn't help but look aways at the small form of endearment, just the mere thought of a caring touch from someone who was loved made her think of Steve and how much she has missed him. In a way it made her jealous that she couldn't have that at the moment.

Rome swooped down to bow on one knee, holding his laced fingers together in front of him. "It's okay, princess, I've got you," he winked.

Quinn rolled her eyes. _Oh no,_ she thought. _The man is an oblivious idiot. _Linnea shot him a dirty look before giving Lena a bittersweet smile. "Everything will be okay,"

Lena huffed out a nervous sigh before planting both hands on Rome's shoulders and her right foot in his interlocked hands. He hoisted her up towards the middle of the fence where she took over for climbing. "Just don't look down!" Rome encouraged her as she clung tightly onto the fence. "Is she afraid of heights?" Quinn questions as they all step back to look at Lena squiggle up the fence.

"Yeah," Linnea answers. She merely nods her head in response as she tries to not take her eyes off of Lena. She wanted to catch her in case she fell off. There was a moment of silence where all they could hear was the rattling of the fence and Lena struggled breaths as she attempted to overcome her fear. "She's got a nice butt though," Rome admires breaking the silence.

"Yeah..." Linnea and Quinn agree in unison as the watch Lena straddle the top of fence and then continue down the backside. She hopped off the fence five feet from the ground, staggering backwards a bit from the landing. Linnea approached the fence with a smile. "Good job," she patronized, linking her fingers through the fence.

Afterwards she turned to look at Quinn, who noticed that she and Rome were looking at her at the same time expectantly. She manages to swallow her arrogant pride as she realized that she was the second smallest in the group. "All right, don't get your panties in a bunch," she hisses out as she approaches the fence.

Her fingers locking around the metal of each hole, giving her a shiver that ran down her spine at the sensation. "No tearful goodbyes?" she teases as she begins climbing the fence. "Just don't look down," Rome's annoying voice once again says as if he were taunting her.

She rolls her eyes, before swinging her head back down to look at him. As she does so she begins to feel dizzy at the height she's at. "Oh, god," she whimpers out as she clings on to the fence tightly. Her head rests against the cool metal of the fence as she tries to steady her firing nerves. "Have you ever discovered you had a phobia in the midst of doing something with that phobia?" she questions, trying to lighten her spirits with a truthful joke. "What? You've never been on a plane before?" Linnea replies, placing her hands on her hips. "I told you not to do that!" Rome scolds.

"Well, in case you haven't noticed. I tend not to listen to you!" Quinn retorts. After a jittering moment she finds her courage to finally continue climbing the fence with shaking and sweating hands, squeezing her eyes shut as she scales over the top and tumbling downwards as she misses a loop in the fence.

The air is knocked out of her lungs as she hits with ground with a solid thump. She can hear muffled voices that only become louder the more her senses become attuned to what happened. "Are you okay?" Lena questions as she stumbles beside her. Quinn hoists herself up on her elbows, her body beginning to ache. "Yeah, my body broke my fall," she tries to joke in a pained voice.

In a moments notice she feels two arms wrapping around her shoulders and hoisting her up to stand. She didn't even realize that Linnea had climbed the fence in the amount of time it took her to regain her senses. "Thank you," she whimpers out as she is able to stand on her own.

She hears Rome land on the ground with a solid thump, signifying that their whole group had made it. He gives her a look of disbelief as if she were beneath him in someway. Of course she scale a wall with no problem but when it came to scaling a fence she was petrified. Perhaps it was just in the moment. Either way, Rome took this to belittle her. It's as if any redeeming quality he had was tossed out the window with the judgmental glare he was giving her.

She takes a pained breath as she looks at them for a moment. "Glad to see we made it out alive," she manages to give them a small smile. In what seemed to be a small moment of rejoice and relief, it was interrupted by the newcomer of their group. Rome's small cough catches her attention, her happiness faltering as she rested her eyes upon his displeased and irritated stature.

"So how exactly are we getting to New York?"

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the delayed chapter it's been really chaotic to keep up with them! This was originally going to be sooo much longer but I thought it'd be best to split it into two chapters since the past couple of chapters have been longer. I also need more time trying to write it since it's basically going to be a road trip chapter and I didn't want a lot of character development to happen in one whole chapter - so that's why it's in two. I'm going to try to have the next chapter up by Friday or Saturday depending on how busy I am this week with work. I've also been favoring watching Community than writing and I just figured out that Abed from Community is in winter soldier as one of the S.H.I.E.L.D. techs in the communication room where they bug the system and there's a loud feedback and Abed is the one to go "check it out" and find Steve, Sam, and Maria. I dunno I just thought it was cool since Winter Soldier is the first Russo Brother Marvel movie and they also directed a portion of Community's episodes. Anyways, stayed tuned for the next chapter which will be: Step Two: Steal (there'll be a lot of character development in the next chapter).**

**P.S.S. I actually have been making a little guide on characters that'll bee seen throughout this fic and others since Hey America will be part of my THEOGONY series. Please take it as an apology gift for not being as active as I should be. So if you wanted background info on Quinn or to get to know more characters that'll be a main part of the THEOGONY series (like Blair and January - from Full Stop) then pop on over to wattpad (because I can't do it on here) to check it out!**


	46. CHAPTER XLVI

**CHAPTER FORTY-SIX**

**(** HOW TO STEAL A CAR **)**

**STEP TWO: STEAL.**

Quinn looked at Rome with a dazed look in her eyes. Here they were celebrating that they had escaped from a government building and he was hitting her with logic she couldn't think of at the moment. She blinks a couple of times. Maybe she had a concussion from that fall. It takes her a few moments to come to the realization that Rome had asked her a genuine question of their plan. "Linnea can hotwire a car," she blurts out, quickly wishing she had swallowed her words until they had gotten further into the woods for shelter. Being this close to the perimeter fence of Quantico's training base made her feel uneasy. She couldn't be the only one that felt this way.

However, it didn't seem to bother Rome, who could literally turn them in at any time. Although he'd probably be in trouble as well now, after helping them steal from a weapons vault, evade detection from the patrol, and hop the fence. Rome blankly stares at her then turns his attention to Linnea as if she were lying. There was no way _she_ could hotwire a car. Linnea crosses her arms across her chest and returns the judgmental gaze as if he were beneath her. "I had strict parents," she simply shrugs. With one swift move, she flips in the opposite direction, heading towards the woods that surrounded the academy.

Rome's face deadpans as he continues to look at her. Something didn't sit well with him. "In Sweden?" he judges, earning a scoff from Linnea as she begins to trek through the woods. He notices that the others have followed her lead, each beginning to take haphazard steps through the muddy terrain, trying not to break their ankles over the overgrown roots of the trees. He looks over his shoulder at the academy once more, surveying it as if it were the last time he'd see it. Something that provided him with an opportunity of a lifetime, something that provided him security - not only living wise but education and a future job. He knew at anytime he could turn back, act as if he was just slacking off on post, have everything go back to normal like how things were before Quinn showed up. But he wouldn't be able to sleep knowing someone's life was in peril.

With a hefty sigh, Rome turns around, following the group into the woods.

Quinn hisses as she stumbles blindly into the dark area. Nothing like going for a midnight stroll in the woods, where everything could kill someone if it wanted to. Her main concern was not falling and breaking her neck on the roots beneath her. Each time she stumbled over one, it caused a new sensation of pain in her ankles. She was glad to see that she wasn't the only one struggling. When she shined her light towards Lena she was taking baby steps around each root to try not to trip.

The only person who seemed to be excelling with the trek was Rome. It's like he knew where each root was and proceeded to walk on top of it like it was nothing. Sadly, this was something she couldn't do that Rome could. She would've fallen in an instant. "So what's the plan?" Rome questions, sounding out of breath. Maybe he was actually struggling as well. She smiled as she heard the strained puff in his voice. None of them were good at something like this.

Rome looked expectantly over at her, flashlight shining in her eyes, blinding her for a moment as if he were telling her to spit out the plan. She grumbled to herself as she neared him, he could barely make out the words "ignorant asshole" from her mumbling. He rolled his eyes, he didn't want to pick a fight with her over a few short words. She was out of breath by the time she had managed to get close to him. The trek was starting to wear her down.

She took a few heaving breaths before fixing her flyaways and looking at Rome, a heated look in her eye. "We hotwire a car, we drive to New York," she begins to list off, Rome nodding at every step listed as if he actually cared. "Hop on a quinjet from Avengers Tower and then head to Portofino," she quickly finished, barely brushing by the last part with ease. She hoped no one really cared where Portofino was located but judging by the furrowed brow of Rome she could tell he wasn't a fan nor knew where it was at. To be fair neither did she until EDGE told her so.

"Where's that?" he asks the dreaded question on everyone's mind. She peered around Rome, looking at Lena and Linnea who had come to a stop as well to listen to her. Even they were blindly following her. She presses her lips together, hoping for the best reaction. "Italy," she answers.

"Italy?" Linnea repeats, her eyes wide from the answer.

"Buongiorno," Lena teasingly whispers, a small smirk appearing on her face. At least she seemed to enjoy the news. Rome, on the other hand, placed his hands upon his hips while giving her a Stern yet annoyed gaze. For half a second Quinn confused him for a younger, knock-off version of Steve, the Australian version of Captain America. She briefly becomes flustered. She needed to see Steve in order for this to go away, or to remember that Rome was the reason she had a fat lip and black eye. "And who's going to fly the quinjet?" he asks in a huff of disappointment.

"No one needs to fly it, it has autopilot. I think..." She answers, flustered still. Rome lets out a humorless chuckle as if it had been a faulty plan from the start. "Great and does anyone know how to communicate with an air tower in Italy in Italian?" he questions.

Heat flooded to her cheeks. She hadn't thought that far ahead. If she was being honest to the group she would have said she needed to take a slight pitstop to see Steve. Her mother was right, absence did make the heart grow fonder. Rome expectantly looked not only at her but between Lena and Linnea, a finger pointed at each of them. "No one?"

The group remained silent while Rome continued to glare at them. Once again, he lets out a humorless chuckle that evolves into a sadistic mad laugh. "Well, I can't say I'm surprised. This sounds like a half baked plan zombie," he blurts out, obviously upset. He _had_ just thrown away his job security for this. It didn't stop Quinn from being less stubborn as her blood began to boil from the mocking. "That's because it is one and I need you to stop stressing me out about it!" she shouts, glaring at him in return. She turns on her heel, trying to outrun the group so they couldn't see how upset she had gotten.

Leave it to Rome to point out all the flaws in her. Although, he did have a point. Maybe she should've thought about it more before jeopardizing her career path. Just thinking about the consequences made her want to whine with how stupid she was. But she was already out of the academy, there was no turning back now.

"So what makes this friend so important to actually break out of the FBI academy and basically ruin your chances at succeeding in life?" Rome speaks up after a few moments of silence. Instead of berating him with an insult or rolling her eyes sarcastically, she decides to answer him. It was a genuine question after all.

"She's a good friend of mine. She used to work for S.H.I.E.L.D. as an agent," she answers with a sigh. She had a feeling it was going to be a long night with all these questions. Rome was curious, she couldn't blame him for wanting to know more about her situation, but explaining her whole life story wasn't something she wanted to do at the moment. She just wanted to focus on what lies ahead of them at the moment. Right now, their main task was to get into town to hitch a ride. "Oh, so it's guilt you're feeling," Rome replies, his voice tinged with sarcastic fascination. "You know because you betrayed S.H.I.E.L.D. and now she's magically gone and you think it'll clear you conscious about what happened that day,"

Quinn abruptly turns around to glare at him, her lips pulled down into a tight frown as her brows furrowed in agitation. He had finally struck a nerve that he had been trying to expose for weeks now. A snarky smirk appeared on his face, his blue eyes narrowing as he threw daggers back at her. "Oh yeah, that's what it's about," he chides, relishing in seeing her become even more frustrated with him. It was something that he loved to see.

A hand encases her shoulder, distracting her from him, only to be met with the kind eyes of Lena. "Ignore him, Quinn, he's just trying to get the best of you," she urges. Quinn gives her a curt nod, giving Rome one last glare before turning around and continuing on her path. "And why are you two helping her?" Rome calls out to Lena and Linnea from behind them. "Seems a little odd since we've known her for only a few weeks -"

"Because that's what friends do," Lena abruptly answers, her voice also littered with frustration. "And if you haven't noticed, someone's life is on the line, and it's our duty to save and protect them,"

"Yeah but we're not even special agents, why are you throwing it all down the drain -"

"Why are you out here Rome?" Lena asks, stopping abruptly and coming nose to nose with him. It appears that Rome had also gotten on her last nerve as well. "You, of all people, decided to tag along with us. Why?" Rome stared blankly at Lena, confused as to why she had suddenly snapped. Quinn tried her best to ignore the bickering but had to stop in order to not lose the group.

"Is it because you actually have a decent heart and know someone is in trouble and you want to help? Or is it because Quinn is trying to do something and you think you could do better? Lord knows you've been in the biggest pissing match of the century," Lena rants, barely having enough time to breathe in between her hot takes.

"Or is it because somewhere deep down in that primal caveman mind of yours, you saw Quinn, you knew she was a special case, you've seen her in action, you saw how pretty she was with her _blonde_ hair and _big_ eyes...tell me Rome, do you have a playground crush on our special case?" her eyes narrow up at Rome, gazing upon him in an accusatory manner.

Quinn's eyes went wide at the accusation. There was no way, it was impossible for that monster to have any positive feelings towards her - especially attraction. However, that self-assured smirk on his face did hold something that alluded to Lena being right. He didn't even glance in her direction once. He bent over, trying to get level with Lena's short stature, a dazed and self-confident glow in his eye. "I'm doing this to get the satisfaction of seeing zombie fail," he answers, his voice dripping with venom.

"And sweetheart, before you psychoanalyze anyone else, I would evaluate the person beforehand. Then you would remember that I'm also getting a date from you by the end of this," his voice is threatening, deadly, but at the same time, it also sounded sweet, as of he were talking to a toddler. The curve of his lips twisted up into a firm smile as he lifted back up into his original posture, sticking his hand out to pat her twice on the shoulder before brushing past her to keep pursuing the path towards town. "Yeah, we'll see," Lena mutters under her breath, instinctively coming to Linnea's side for comfort.

"Quit looking at me like that, zombie," Rome threatens from ahead of her as he passes. A sudden heat rushes to her cheeks as she feels herself coming back to earth from being distracted. "I w-wasn't," she stutters, eventually giving up on trying to excuse herself. She shakes her head trying to clear her thoughts.

She definitely needed to see Steve again, being around Rome - the only man to give her some sort of attention - was starting to make her have Stockholm syndrome. Perhaps she could sneak a peak of him when they were at Avengers tower, maybe get in a good belly rub for Rudolph. She couldn't think about them at the moment. All she could do was thinking about Blair. Thinking about Steve and Rudolph made her soft and made her felt like retreating back to the academy so she could continue on with her training. She couldn't ignore Blair though. Something was happening to her. She needed to be there for her like she had been for her.

The trek became lighter, easier to walk through the terrain the closer they got to town. It had been a forty-minute journey to the town but they had finally made it. It was a sight for sore eyes. She had seen nothing but the large academy for so long she had forgotten how many lights there were in one single town. Or how many people there were out and about at this time. It was close to midnight, these were all drunkards trying to cut loose after a long day at work.

No doubt special agents would be milling about in the town as well, this _was_ their town after all. She instinctively grabbed onto Lena and Linnea's elbows, tugging them backward and further into the treeline and away from being sighted by anyone.

Her eyes traced the outline of the main street where many cars were pulled up and parked off to the side. One of them was their ticket out of here. The only problem was the people. If they were caught trying to steal a car the authorities would be called, and then they'd be transferred back to the academy where they each would be expelled.

She gnaws on her lip. She hadn't expected a complication this early but to be fair this wasn't the first complication. Her eyes drifted to Rome for a moment before looking back out towards the street, he appeared to be surveying the situation as well. "I did not expect this many people out," Quinn hisses out under her breath, stating the obvious.

"It's a Friday night and there are multiple bars in a three-mile radius of a place that could be considered the most stressful job in America," Rome states.

"Says the Australian," she scoffs. Rome tosses her a glare. "Are you really going to nitpick at my nationality now?" he questions, his voice low with agitation. Her cheeks instantly heat up at the comment. "That is not where I was going with this," she trails off, shaking her head and looking in the opposite direction of Rome. "And where exactly were you headed with that comment?"

Quinn purses her lips. He always seemed to find a way under her skin and just pick. She returns his glare, challenging him. "Linnea, have you found our ride?" she questions without breaking eye contact from Rome.

"Way ahead of you," Linnea answers while peeking her head out from the treeline. Quinn twirls around to see Linnea gazing out at the street. Finally, they were moving along with the plan. This was one of the big points in the plan as well. Hopefully, Linnea had enough sense to choose a car that would actually take them over a hundred miles. Something large too. She didn't want to be cooped up next to Rome for the next few hours.

In a moment's notice Linnea makes a quick beeline towards the street, the others quick to follow, Rome rounding out the back half, looking behind to make sure they weren't being followed. They acted as a synchronized team. If one of them spotted trouble the others would come to their defense. Quinn eyeballed the left side as Lena did the right.

Her knees ached with how crouched over she was. She didn't want to be seen but she also didn't want to look suspicious if they were caught. A half hunkered down woman raise a bit of a red flag if someone saw her. The barrage of voices lingering out on the street was enough to alarm Quinn. Her senses were now on full alert. She couldn't chance getting caught now, especially doing something illegal.

They finally near the selected car of Linnea's choosing, a tan SUV that seemed to be more than ten years old, the backside of the bumper was rusting off. It's not ideal but it'll hopefully transport them to New York. Hopefully. At the moment all she could do was wish and hope that she wasn't too late for Blair.

After a few moments, her posture begins to relax, to see more causal to the unsuspecting eye. She couldn't seem too tense or the surrounding civilians would start to get suspicious. Her eyes connect with Rome's momentarily, fully displaying how bored his demeanor was but how on edge his eyes looked under the surface. As if he was ready to fight if needed.

She watches how skillfully Linnea is able to jimmy the lock open. With a satisfying thunk, the car door becomes ajar, leaving Linnea to open it before spinning around to see Rome and Quinn's surprised faces. "Huh, " Quinn mumbles out in disbelief. "Didn't think it was that easy to pick a lock,"

"Didn't your apartment get broken into?" Rome scrutinizes.

"Don't you know I suffer from memory loss?" she counters, earning an eye roll from Lena. She didn't have the patience to listen to their constant bickering. It was only a matter of time before she kicked them both to get them to knock it off.

Quinn had to take a step back to admire the champagne-colored vehicle. It was big enough to hold at least eight people, which meant she could put as much room between her and Rome as she wanted. Although, she could never imagine Linnea driving such a big vehicle.

As Linnea opens the door to the front seat she gives Quinn a questionable look, as if she was asking for her opinion about their new ride. "It's not my style, but it'll work," Quinn shrugs in approval. It was only for a few hours.

"I call shotgun," Lena announced, nearing the passenger side of the car.

"I call sitting next to Lena," Rome added, making Quinn furrow her brow. "She's literally getting shotgun," she points out, opening the backdoor behind the driver's seat.

She pushes herself in the truck, the smooth leather, cool against the backside of her thighs. She jumps a bit in surprise as she notices Rome had slid in next to her, struggling to squeeze in. "Shotgun on my lap," he says in between adjusting himself into the seat. She can't help but roll her eyes at him. "Ugh, you can sit in the trunk with that attitude," she mutters as she leans her head against the cool glass window.

Her head was already starting to throb with irritation from listening to Rome. Hopefully, after this escapade, she would never have to hear from him again. Meanwhile, she could hear Linnea struggling to work with the wire that had spilled out from the car when she popped open the compartment. She winced as the wires gave her a small shock after tapping them together.

"Aren't you supposed to be good at hijacking a car?" Rome wondered aloud, causing Linnea to let out a huff of frustration.

"Weren't you supposed to shut up?"

"That wasn't in the terms of agreement of when I came along," Rome states, relaxing into his seat, settling in for the long ride.

"Can we make that a term of agreement?" Linnea mutters under her breath. For a moment she doesn't think he can hear her but then he pipes up. "Oh, sure. Let me just get out of the car and head back and tell everyone you guys have defected -" he begins, shimmying in his seat as if he were about to get out, hand on the handle.

"No!" Quinn interjects in the bickering, halting Rome from opening his door.

He looks at her with a smug grin on his face. He has her right where he had always wanted her - right under his thumb. Being with them, and knowing what they were doing, he could always threaten to head back to the academy and make himself out to look like the victim to put a huge target on her head. At this point, he could have anything he wanted from her.

She didn't like it, but she had to somehow manage this. "You can talk, just stop stressing everyone out. We're all a little on edge," she attempts to deescalate the situation. If only Professor Caulfield could see her now. He'd give her a passing grade for hostage negotiation.

Rome rolls his eyes as he turns to look out the window, mumbling something along the lines of "Pah, no kidding," under his breath.

Finally, there was peace in the truck once again. However, the lingering panic of impending soon seemed to loom over everyone. That's why everyone was so quick to jump at each other's throats. Not even two hours into working with each other and everyone was ready to turn on one another.

It probably wouldn't be as stressful if Rome wasn't in the group, pointing out the flaws in their plan, nitpicking what everyone was doing. She couldn't help but wonder why he had come along in the first place. Of course, he was gaining a "date" from Lena out of this but if he was actually thinking logically, there was no way they'd make it back to the academy without anyone noticing they were gone.

They'd be expelled without question if they stepped foot back on campus, well, after they were dragged into questioning. Then they'd be put under a microscope, to make sure no one was actually working for Hydra. He had been so adamant and hellbent on making her life a living hell, why wouldn't he call for security?

A small inkling told her that maybe Lena was right. Maybe she had caught him in his lie back in the woods. Maybe he had treated her like shit, reverting back to his childhood days where boys would tease girls because they "liked them". If he actually did have feelings for her, she certainly _did not_ reciprocate them back, and he had one hell of a way of showing it to her by giving her a black eye during class.

"Hey! That's my truck!"

The shout was enough to bring her back to reality, her breath quickly picking up as she inched her way to the middle of the backseat, looking out the windshield to see a few men heading towards the SUV. They were staggering from being drunk but their stature was bigger than Rome, which made her feel small and uncomfortable. She didn't want to be caught by a group of drunk men for many reasons other than being caught by the academy. "Linnea, go!" she urges, tapping on the headrest of the driver's seat.

"I'm trying to go as fast as I can!" Linnea shouts back, struggling to pick up her pace with all the pressure on her. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Just shine a light on the wires!"

As Quinn reaches to grab her flashlight from her pants she notices a movement from beside her, drawing her attention towards Rome. She quickly turns on the flashlight, pointing towards the steering wheel where Linnea had wires spilling out, all the while never taking her eyes off of Rome.

He smirks at her as he unbuttons the top part of his holster where a handgun was settled in. "Don't worry," Rome states, catching Quinn's attention. "They're probably Marines. Nothing I can't handle," he shrugs off, taking the gun out of the holster completely.

Her eyes widen with panic as everything seems to move in slow motion. Her adrenaline was at an all-time high. She tosses the flashlight in the air towards Lena, who quickly and instinctively catches the flying object. She outstretches her hand, grabbing tightly into Rome's wrist that had the gun in hand and pulling it back.

He lets out a surprised grunt as he's pulled back further into the car. He turns to glare at Quinn, who was doing the same. As soon as she opens her mouth, he does as well. Their voices interloping with each other as they scold one another.

"Are you crazy?!" Quinn shouts.

"Are you crazy? I took the safety off and you just reached for the gun at an awkward angle!" Rome retorts.

"Don't pull out your gun on a random guy whose car we're stealing!"

"Why not!" Rome questions, scrunching his brows in frustration.

"Because we are in the wrong here!" she seethes through clenched teeth. Rome, begrudgingly, lowers his gun back into his holster growling at the sudden lack of action from him. The men appeared to be getting closer, screaming vulgarities at them, their hands in fists as they began dashing towards the vehicle. Quinn's eyes widen at the closeness of the men.

"Linnea!" she warns, she wants to wail. They got so far, they couldn't stop now. What would be the point? Working under immense pressure didn't seem to worry Linnea, she took her time, making sure there were no errors in her work. Although, Quinn rattling the back of her seat did light a fire under her. With one click of the wires, the truck roared with life, giving all who was in the truck a sense of relief.

"Got it!" Linnea shouts, throwing her hand up to rest on the back of Lena's seat to watch the road. Quinn sat on the edge of her seat, clasping on to the back of Linnea's seat, watching out the windshield as she began to drive. The threats of the men seemed less dangerous now.

However, a sudden kick of excitement from all the suspense made her stomach lurch, and a panicked yet relieved laugh bounced it's way past her lips. The laugh was contagious and quickly spread throughout the vehicle. First from Linnea and then it passed to Lena and finally Rome, who had to eagerly roll down the window as they passed the men, yipping an excited, "Woo-hoo!"

The men's shouts became further and further away until they were silenced by the sound of the vehicle's air-conditioning revving up. The men may have been outsmarted by them, however, she wouldn't doubt that they wouldn't make a police report about it. Once the police knew, the academy would know. They were no longer cadets, they would be put on the fugitive list for sure. She once again, leaned her head against the cool window, a small smirk on her face.

Who knew being on the run was so much fun?


End file.
